S C I E N T I F I C 

HAT FINISHING 
and RENOVATlil 



Henry L. Ermatingei 




Class _J~$A13_3 

Book >F^!_ 

GopyMtft? 



COPypIGHT DEPOSrE 



SCIENTIFIC 

HAT FINISHING 

and RENOVATING 



SCIENTIFIC 
HAT FINISHING 
and RENOVATING 



A complete and profusely illustrated 
course of instruction, enabling the 
novice to acquire the art of finishing 
and remodeling hats of all varieties 
according to tested and approved 
methods 

By Henry L. Ermatinger, Hatter 



% 



PUBLISHED BY 

ROBERTS, CUSHMAN & CO. 

NEW YORK 
1919 



111 



r 



NOTE.— THE CONTENTS OF 
THIS BOOK ARE FULLY COV- 
ERED BY COPYRIGHT AND 
INFRINGEMENT WILL BE 
PROSECUTED TO THE FULL- 
EST EXTENT OF THE LAW. 



rt 



COPYRIGHT 1919 
BY THE HAT TRADE PUBLISHING CO. 



&A515125 




iv 

-3 1919 


*% i 


Altf / 





PREFACE 

TN publishing this book it has been our aim to give 
*• to hat finishers and renovators a text book such as 
has heretofore been possessed by practically every 
craft but that of hatting. While the need for such a 
book has been keenly realised, the jealousy with which 
the secrets of the trade have been guarded by those 
competent to teach them has been an insurmountable 
difficulty to overcome in the past. 

The present volume, it is believed, is as complete 
and explicit as it is possible to make. "Scientific Hat 
Finishing and Renovating" is really a remarkable 
achievement. The reader will soon realize that it is 
more than a set of instructions — it is this, plus a run- 
ning fire of confidential advice and counsel from a man 
wfao ihas been a practical hatter all his life and has] 
learned the little shortcuts and economies that distin- 
guish the expert from the beginner. If you need a 
cigar-box for pouncing paper and chalk he does not 
advise you to get a costly cabinet. Throughout the 
book there are hardheaded hints that will be of value 
to the hatter already established as well as to the man 
planning to open a shop. 

Besides the satisfaction of filling a genuine need 
and helping to elevate the craft of hatting, we feel a 

v 



sentimental interest in sponsoring this book, for John 
Henry Ermatinger, father of the author, was one of 
our early customers and Mr. Ermatinger himself is still 
on our books as a regular purchaser. As far back as 
1862 John Henry Ermatinger was purchasing goods 
from us; and his son, the author of this book, has in 
his possession an old bill from us dated in that year. 

While we have made no endeavor to advertise our 
products in this book, we wish to call the reader's at- 
tention to the fact that all supplies mentioned may be 
obtained from us. 

ROBERTS, CUSHMAN & CO. 



New York, 
February, 1919. 



vi 



CONTENTS 

Introductory 1 

From the Business Man's Point of View 5 

Establishing the Shop 9 

Equipping and Arranging the Shop 14 

Advertising and Business Systems 20 

What to Charge 25 

How to Make Out a Job Ticket 27 

Preparing the Hats for Cleaning 29 

Cleaning Soft Hats 31 

Cleaning Soft Hats (Cont.) 37 

Stiffening and Blocking 44 

Ironing and Pouncing 51 

Brim Work (Soft Hats) 57 

Curling Soft Hats 64 

Flanging 69 

Renovating Velours, Beavers and Napped Hats 75 

Shaping Soft Hat Styles 77 

How to Conform a Hat 81 

Cleaning Stiff Hats 88 

Blocking Stiff Hats 93 

Curling Stiff Hats 97 

Finishing Rough Hats 103 

Trimming 109 

Cleaning Straws and Body Hats 112 

Bleaching Straws and Body Hats 118 

Bleaching and Stiffening Panama Hats 123 

Blocking Panama Hats 128 

Other Bleaching Methods 131 

Renovating Women's Straw Hats 138 

Ironing, Washing and Blocking Silk Hats 144 



vn 




C VERY article of 
*-^ equipment or 
supply for hat finish- 
ing and renovating, 
mentioned in the 
following chapters, 
can be obtained from 



Roberts, Cushman & Company 

Executive Offices and Salesroom 

10 Washington Place, New York City 

Hat Band Mills HAT SWEAT FACTORY 

26-36 East 26th Street, 9 Washington Place 

Paterson, NJ. NEW YORK. N.Y. 

Send for our illustrated catalogue 



VI 11 



INTRODUCTORY 



JOHN HENRY ERMATINGER, father of the 
author of this book was born in Shaffhausen, 
Switzerland, in 1827, and served his full apprentice- 
ship, which in those years meant shaving the fur from 
the skins of hares and beavers with a razor, making 
the body with the old-fashioned bow, sizing and dye- 
ing the different shades, blocking and finishing and 
curling by hand — in fact making the entire hat by 
hand from the rabbit to the wearer. From 1840 to 
1850 his boss, John Wuescher, displayed his hats at 
the Exposition in Paris, making the Tour de France 
ten times, and in the last seven tours capturing the 
"Grand Prix" over all European competition. In 
1848 John Henry received his card as a full-fledged 
journeyman hatter, and sailed to America. Upon his 
arrival he was shopped in the factory of Lee & Mor- 
ris, on Staten Island, New York, where on the first 
day he was told that his work was too good, as the 
jobbers in New York would want them all like John 
Henry's, if they found one of that quality in the case. 
The new "Jour" was obliged to put on the brakes and 
adapt himself to the prevailing conditions. In 1849, 
one year after landing in America, he was offered the 

1 



Introductory 

superintendency of the factory by the president, Mr. 
Morris, but instead of availing himself of this oppor- 
tunity the gold-fever took possession of him, and by 
way of the Isthmus of Panama and the Chagres River 
he arrived at the gold-fields of California in 1849. 

In 1850 he sailed for the new gold diggings of 
Australia, and after prospecting for nine years, he 
again sailed, this time to South America. Several 
years of prospecting in Uruguay, Paraguay and Ar- 
gentine, convinced him that a rolling stone gathers 
no moss, so he sought and found employment with an 
Italian, who was the proprietor of the leading hat 
establishment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and also hatter 
to his majesty, Don Pedro III, emperor of Brazil. 

In this establishment the workmanship of the globe- 
trotting hatter was highly appreciated — especially so 
by the emperor, who almost daily stepped in to have 
his silk hat ironed or blocked, and to converse with 
John Henry, who spoke seven languages. It was here 
that the senior Ermatinger learned the real Spanish 
method of bleaching Panama hats and fine Milan and 
split braid straws. 

Thoroughly equipped to undertake anything in the 
hat line, he concluded again to sail for the United 
States, and in 1870 opened up a silk hat factory, and 
shop for the general renovating of men's and ladies' 
hats in St. Louis, Mo., where he succeeded in building 
up a lucrative establishment. 

At the age of 14 years, the son, Henry L., started 
to learn the trade of his father. He served as an 
apprentice until he was 21 years of age. Five weeks 
later, on December 5, 1889, John Henry Ermatinger 

2 



Introductory 

passed away, and the son continued the business, and 
built up a reputation throughout the United States 
for the finest repair work on high-grade hats, includ- 
ing the bleaching of the finer grades of Panamas, Leg- 
horns, Bangkoks, Milans and China and Belgium 
split-braids. He received repair work from all parts 
of the country, and many Panamas ranging from the 
$10 grades to the $150 Monte Cristi have been sent to 
him for bleaching once or twice a season continuously 
for eight of ten years, proving absolutely that no in- 
jurious acids were used in his work. 

In 1910, at the age of 42, he retired from the busi- 
ness and made his residence on his orange and grape- 
fruit grove near St. Petersburg, Fla., but after four 
years he found the inactivity irksome and re-entered 
his old business with his son, H. L. Ermatinger, Jr., 
opening a repair shop in St. Petersburg where he 
handles a large mail order business. 

Henry L. Ermatinger has been the means of help- 
ing many to build up successful and remunerative 
businesses, and readers are urged to make the most 
of the opportunity, which is now offered to take ad- 
vantage of authoritative instruction in a jealously 
guarded art, which has never before been put into 
print. 

The Publisher. 



SCIENTIFIC 

HAT FINISHING 

and RENOVATING 

CHAPTER I 
From the Business Man's Point of View 

THIS book is intended primarily to give the reader 
a thorough instruction in the interesting and 
remunerative craft of Scientific Hat Finishing and 
Renovating, as indicated in the title. It must be re- 
membered, however, that the hatter who opens a shop 
for the expert repairing and manufacture of hats is 
also a business man; he must follow the precepts of 
conduct of other men who have served the public 
successfully; he must possess a knowledge of book- 
keeping and business arithmetic; he must know how 
to pick the most advantageous location ; how to equip 
and furnish his shop, how to approach customers; 
and many an expert craftsman whose work was un- 
impeachable, has been brought upon the rocks because 
of ignorance or neglect of one of these details. 

This chapter will be devoted to a few necessary 
suggestions developed from a life-long experience in 
this work — suggestions which must be considered 
and adopted before the beginner can open his shop 
with assurance of success. 

5 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

Every man with experience in independent business 
life, who has had to cut a place for himself among 
competitors and build up a business from a small be- 
ginning, has found indispensable certain primary at- 
tributes of conduct. 

Before his special capacities can be of use to him 
he must be industrious, patient, sober, polite, inge- 
nious and honest. With these virtues and even a 
minimum of business acumen, you can have in a few 
years, by the conscientious study and practice of the 
methods described here, an establishment that will 
take care of yourself and family and assure you a 
comfortable income during your lifetime. 

Have patience. It takes time to establish yourself 
in the confidence of the people of a town, but if you 
can clean and block a hat better than your competitor, 
and if you have the ambition to succeed, and the 
heart to work for success, nothing can prevent your 
having phenomenal success, except things over which 
we have no control. Each job you turn out should 
be perfect. If you make up your mind not to tolerate 
slighted work, your satisfied customers will talk about 
you and advertise you as nothing else can do. Every 
customer has his circle of friends, and they in turn 
have theirs, and if you learn your business and get a 
reputation for doing thorough, conscientious work 
your success is assured. Like an endless chain this 
gratuitous advertising from a pleased customer to 
his friends continues indefinitely, and in a few years 
you can ask the highest price for your labor and have 
the satisfaction of turning out nothing but the best 
work, and absolutely ignoring the cheap competition 
of bootblacks. 

6 



Fkom the Business Man's Point of View 

Be sober. No man in business can expect to suc- 
ceed if he wastes time and money on liquor. All 
classes of people must be dealt with and many will 
refrain from patronizing a business man who goes on 
periodical sprees. And whether or not your customer 
has any prejudice in this direction he certainly will 
hesitate before entrusting you with a $5.00 felt hat, 
or a $10.00, or perhaps a $50.00, Panama hat, if it be 
known that you are a drinking man. Your lady cus- 
tomers particularly will be inclined to discontinue 
their patronage should you attempt to wait on them 
while under the influence of liquor. 

Be polite. This is another great attribute, and the 
business man with the smile and cheery "good-morn- 
ing" and "thank you, sir," and "call again," will suc- 
ceed ahead of his competitor, who, although perhaps 
a better workman, is possessed with an ever-present 
grouch. Politeness is one of the greatest "trade- 
getters" in business. 

Ingenuity and energy are also of vital importance. 
No ambitious business man should be afraid in his 
busy season to work ten or twelve hours a day when 
every hour he is coining money. The author's motto 
has always been to "make hay while the sun shines." 
For over twenty years, during the Panama season, 
he has labored sixteen and even eighteen hours a day, 
turning out from three to four dozen jobs a day, 
averaging $1.25 each, with the assistance of an ap- 
prentice and two hat trimmers (girls). 

Honesty is one of the main essentials to success. 
Be honest to your trade, to yourself and to your help. 
Give your customers the best that is in you, and 
always do what you agreed to do. Never slight your 

7 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

work nor turn the old ribbons inside out if you are 
being paid for new ones, as these small tricks will 
soon be discovered and will work untold injury to 
your business. Charge uniform prices to all except- 
ing to the retail hatter, who, acting as your agent and 
sending you many hats during the month, is justly 
entitled to about 20 per cent, commission on all work 
sent. To your help be true but firm, according to 
your established rules. If they are efficient and are 
interested in your welfare, treat them with considera- 
tion and fairness, and you will be amply repaid. Be 
honest with yourself. You cannot work seven days 
in the week and continue to give your customers your 
best work. In your busiest season, when work piles 
up in spite of your utmost efforts during the week, 
it will seem as if you must work on Sunday. My ad- 
vice is, don't do it. Get to your work an hour 'or two 
earlier in the morning, when you feel freshest and 
when there are fewer interruptions to continuous 
work. You will accomplish as much, if not more, 
than you would by working on the day provided for 
rest, and you will find that it agrees with you better. 
Rest and recreation on Sunday builds the nerve and 
tissue which keeps you going to the limit of your 
capacity. 

The above principles have been formulated during 
a successful business career. I have found them as 
indispensable in the hat business as they are in the 
banking business or any other occupation or trade 
that throws men on their own resources and brings 
them into contact with their fellows. 



CHAPTER II 



Establishing the Shop 

Choosing Your Work 

FIRST decide just what the extent of your business 
will be. There are two kinds of hat renovating 
shops — three, in fact. You can make your living by 
repairing, renovating and remodeling only, or you 
can buy stiff and soft hat bodies in the rough and 
finish them in styles locally favored, displaying them 
in your window with a card — "Made to Order — Only 
$3.00" — thereby building up a retail business in con- 
nection with your renovating establishment, or you 
can sell the hats that you finish yourself to the local 
retailers. 

Most hatters find it profitable to combine manufac- 
turing in this small way with their repair work. This 
program has the advantage of giving the hatters some 
well-paying work to which to devote their time in 
what would ordinarily be the dull season for renovat- 
ing work. The methods and processes for finishing 
hats from bodies in the rough will be fully described 
in detail in this series. 

In deciding how best to dispose of the hats you 
turn out — whether to offer them at retail yourself or 
to sell them to the retailers in your locality — there are 
several things to consider. If you sell the hats at re- 
tail, you, of course, can get a higher price per hat. 
This proceeding, however, sometimes arouses the en- 
mity of the retailers who might otherwise secure for 

9 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

you a great deal of renovating work, though if you 
do good, reliable work, and there is no better man in 
the neighborhood, they probably will send you their 
renovates in spite of their disapproval of your com- 
petition. _> T 
r Picking a Location 

After you have decided what the scope of your 
business is to be you are ready for the first active step 
in the establishment of your shop — that of picking a 
location. 

The things to look for are — a location on a main 
street, preferably near some large hotel or business 
block, a low rent, an attractive front if you can get it, 
and a three to five year lease. Of course a finishing 
and renovating shop cannot pay such a high rent as, 
for instance, a retail hat, shoe, clothing or furnishing 
goods store might pay. Nor is it necessary. Such a 
shop requires less space, a less attractive front, and 
need be less particular about its neighbors than the 
ordinary retail store. By careful search you can al- 
ways find a small store on a good business street 
at a reasonable rental. In cases where a small store 
is not available, it is often advisable to rent a larger 
store and sublet one-half of it to a tailor, barber or 
some one else who will draw men to your neighbor- 
hood. 

Give a week of your time to this most important 
step. Ascertain the rent on all the small, vacant 
stores on your main streets, take the list home with 
you and make careful comparisons. Some will have 
one advantage, some another. A modern front will 
be discounted by a high rent, a well-located store you 
will be unable to secure on a long enough lease to 

10 



Establishing the Shop 




make it a safe proposition, and so on. If you find it 
possible to save $10 to $25 a month, though at the 
expense of a modern, attractive front, I would advise 
you to take the place, provided it is in a favorable 
location and you can secure a three to five year lease. 
You can always have the front repainted in some 
lively color or even put in an entire new front if you 
have a long enough lease. 

11 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

Heat, Light and Water 

It is important that your store have running water 
and an abundance of natural light. The better the 
light the better your workmanship will be. A good 
supply of light also goes a long way toward making 
an inviting establishment. Running water is an es- 
sential, a great deal of water being used in doing 
first-class work. 

If possible, have your shop connected with gas, 
which is useful both for lighting purposes and for 
heating your irons, bakers, sandbags and water. Gas 
is by far the best heat-producer and the steadiest 
for conforming stiff hats. If gas cannot be obtained 
you can get along with electricity by equipping your- 
self with an electric iron and stove, procurable from 
the hatters' supply houses. If neither gas nor elec- 
tricity are available, or expedient, a two-burner gaso- 
line stove will give good service, being far preferable 
to the old system of heating slugs in a coke fire. 

Work in Front of the Store 

In considering the various stores that come under 
your attention, choose a front that will allow you to 
have your finisher's bench where passers-by will be 
able to see you at work. If you intend to retail the 
hats you make you may display a few in the win- 
dows, but not enough to obstruct the view into the 
store. The best ad and the surest business-getter for 
the hat repairer is the sight of himself in his clean 
white apron using his skill on the felt and straw hats 
that are piled on the bench. You get 75 per cent, of 
your customers in this way. They pass your store, 
stop to watch you work — perhaps enter the store and 

12 



Establishing the Shop 

ask a question or two about the work. Then when 
their hats need repairing they think of the hatter in 
the window. Besides this, the front is usually the 
lightest part of the store, and strong natural daylight 
is necessary to good work. Also in the front of the 
store you are directly before your entering customer. 

Preliminary Advertising 

Just at this time — after the lease is closed, and 
while you are waiting for your front to be remodeled 
or your blocks, flanges and trimmings to arrive — a 
little press agent work is in order. Get the story in 
circulation that you are about to establish a hat fac- 
tory. Have a sign painter make you an oil cloth or 
canvas sign to put in the window or over the store 
until you are ready to occupy it. Word it about as 
shown in the illustration. If your shop is to be in a 
small town, write out an item for the papers to the 
effect that a hat factory is about to be started. 

Your purpose at this time, and, in fact, in all future 
publicity, should be to become known as a hat fac- 
tory rather than a little renovating shop. It makes 
the venture appear larger and creates more inter- 
est, besides giving more confidence in your work to 
people who want repairing or renovating done. Get 
the people talking about the hat factory that is about 
to be started and the possibility that if it is successful 
it will give employment to some of the townspeople 
— even if the manufacturing is just to be an incidental 
part of your business to fill in your time profitably 
during dull seasons. Let the name of the business 

carry out this idea. Call yourself the 

Hat Mfg. Co. Get established as a manufacturer. 

13 



CHAPTER III 



Equipping and Arranging the Shop 

IT is important that the renovator's and finisher's 
shop be intelligently arranged and equipped. In this 
there is more to consider than appearance — work will 
be greatly facilitated if the various departments are ar- 
ranged consecutively. 

The main finishing bench should be in the front of 
the store, for reasons already given. People stop and 
look, and your tricks with the iron and the luring pad 
come into their memory when their hats grow shabby. 

The bench is primarily a counter or table on which 
you can do your work. It must be substantial and may 
be movable or a permanent fixture. In ordering it at 
the planing mill, or from a first-class carpenter or 
wood-worker, the only unusual feature to specify is a 
semi-circle, 8 inches long and 3 inches wide, which 
should be sawed out near the left-hand corner of the 
bench. This is an important feature, required in 
stiffening and finishing underbrims. 

The bench top should be made of some good close- 
grained hard wood — a walnut top is best — and, of 
course, most expensive. A maple top costs less and 
is almost as serviceable. The top should be 6 feet long, 
3 feet wide and \ l /\. to 1^ inches thick, made of several 
boards, nicely dove-tailed together, and finished per- 
fectly smooth. Woods containing turpentine — such as 
yellow pine — should not be used. Most hatters' sup- 
ply houses carry finishing benches ready made. 

The height of the bench will vary according to the 
14 



Equipping and Arranging the Shop 

height of the man using it. It should be about 30 to 
36 inches. 

The necessary tools and appurtenances should be 
kept on the bench. These are : a small tub of water, 
in the far right-hand corner; a spinner, in the center; 
two finisher's sponges, one for light hats and one for 
dark; two lures, light and dark; a puller down; a 
runner down ; curling tools, and a cigar box for 
pouncing paper, tacks, chalk and marking pencils. 
An inch railing around the back and sides will keep 
small tools from sliding off the bench. 

One or two shelves might be put under the bench, 
for extra spinners, curling board, brim board, and 
such tools as are needed only occasionally. Your 
blocking cords should be kept always handy, on a long 
nail driven in the right-hand leg of the work bench. 

System and cleanliness must be constantly observed. 
The bench should be thoroughly dusted every morn- 
ing and the water changed regularly in the finisher's 
tub. 

Directly behind or alongside your finishing bench you 
will want a row of shelves for your blocks and flanges, 
and, in fact, anything to be used in the course of your 
work, for which you have no room on your bench. 
Eight or ten boards, each ten feet long, ten inches 
wide and about one inch or three-quarters of an inch 
thick. These should be installed, one over the other, 
about eight inches apart, properly braced in the center. 

On these you will keep blocks and flanges, etc. 
Have all the blocks and flanges assorted according to 
size and style ; mark the size of each block on the edge 
of the board directly under the spot where it belongs, 
and always put it back after use. The staple shapes and 

15 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 



i 












<*/?>£, 






M, 









G 



£ 



S/W lOmdoJ 



16 



Equipping and Arranging the Shop 

blocks that you most use should, of course, be on the 
shelves most easily reached, where they are convenient 
to hand. Systematizing the arrangement of your blocks 
in this way will help considerably in the busy season. 

Next to the rows of shelving, the flanging outfit 
should be arranged. For a while you can get along 
very nicely by flanging your brims by hand, but as your 
work increases it will be real economy to install the 
labor-saving devices that are provided for this purpose, 
such as the sand-bag and baker. It is best, therefore, 
to provide a space for this in the original arrangement, 
even if this part of the equipment is to be added later. 
The outfit can be purchased at a reasonable cost and 
will not occupy much space — say about five feet square. 
The equipment is explained in detail in a later chapter. 

Near the finishing bench should be the trimmer's 
chair, table and sewing machine which latter must be 
near a window for light. These also may be dispensed 
with by the beginner, but will be essential if a business 
of any volume is to be handled. If you cannot afford 
a sewing machine at first, a tailor or dressmaker can 
usually be found who will sew bindings on hats for a 
small charge. Take an old hat and rip off the trim- 
mings, carefully observing how each piece is sewn on. 
With the experience gained in this way, and with the 
information given in the chapter on trimming, to be 
printed later, you will be able to take care of this 
work yourself until your business justifies the em- 
ployment of an expert trimmer or a woman handy 
with the needle. 

An extra table 6 to 8 feet long is a necessity, as well 
as some light movable hat racks, holding about a 
dozen hats each, for yourself and the trimmer. Racks 

17 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

with parallel bars are preferable, on which the hats 
may be rested crown down, with the trimmings placed 
inside, convenient for your trimmer. These may be 
lifted and carried from place to place, making them 
more convenient than the racks on rollers. 

A wall case is the preferable place to keep finished 
work. Here it is convenient, safe and makes a good 
appearance. If this seems too expensive, however, 
the hats may be kept in large empty straw hat boxes, 
procured from the retailers — perhaps three or six hats 
to a box. This will keep the hats clean until they are 
called for. A ring should be placed between each, 
and the customer's name written on the outside of the 
box. Felt hats and Panamas should be kept in sep- 
arate boxes. 

Trimmings should be kept under lock and key, and 
for this a closet should be built if the permanent fix- 
tures of the store do not include one. 

A desk for personal use, and a file for your cor- 
respondence-— for keeping in touch with supply houses 
and customers will entail quite a volume of letter- 
writing — will complete the furniture of the store. 

In the yard outside, a rainproof roof should be put 
up, large enough to thoroughly protect your self and 
your work while cleaning with gasoline. A table for 
cleaning should be kept under this roof. 

The best arrangement, if you plan to employ a helper 
of some sort — an apprentice or a trimmer — is to divide 
the store into a front shop and back shop by means 
of a partition. In the front shop have your finishing 
bench, with its accessories, including the sand-bag and 
baker; in the back your gasoline and all the appurte- 
nances for cleaning and washing. The trimming may 

18 



Equipping and Arranging the Shop 

also be done in this room. There should be no stove 
of any kind here, owing to the danger from gasoline 
fumes when the hats are cleaned indoors in cold or 
rainy weather. The only safe light in the back shop 
is an incandescent electric light. By doing the cleaning 
next to a rear window you may do away with arti- 
ficial light altogether. The danger of heat and flame 
in a room where gasoline is used cannot be too often 
mentioned. A stray match or a careless smoker may 
cause fatal results at any time. 



19 



CHAPTER IV 



Advertising and Business Systems 

YOUR shop opened, you face the problems of get- 
ting business, of carrying it on without confusion, 
and of keeping yourself above water financially. 

Getting Work by Personal Calls. 

Personal solicitation is the best plan for getting busi- 
ness immediately. Spend a few hours each day visiting 
the homes and business offices in your neighborhood, 
showing a sample of your work compared with a hat 
that needs repairing, and leaving your business card 
at each call. In a few weeks it will pay you to get a 
solicitor to secure orders on a 20 per cent, commission 
basis, he to deliver and collect for each job. 

Hat Stores and Departments a Source of Income 

A quantity of work can be secured from retail stores, 
both exclusive hatters and hat departments. Call in 
person upon the managers, and offer them 20 per cent, 
commission on all cleaning and blocking jobs they can 
turn over to you. Their relations with the customer 
put them in a position to get a great deal of this work. 
In addition to this you can serve them by making new 
hats to order, conforming derby and stiff straws and 
remodeling their old stock into salable shapes. If you 
let it be known that you are equipped to make hats 
in unusual sizes — smaller than 6^4, and larger than 7}i 
— the stores will be glad to take orders for you for the 
sake of satisfying their hard-to-fit customers. Remod- 

20 



Advertising and Business Systems 

eling work for the retailers requires that you be famil- 
iar with the latest shapes and style tendencies, and for 
this I would recommend a careful inspection of. the 
pages of The American Hatter each month. The 
charge to the retailer for altering old stock should be 
from $6 to $12 per dozen, according to the amount of 
work involved. Practically all of this is clear profit 
to yourself. Your terms can be either cash or delivery 
of job or payment by the month. 

Best Forms of Advertising. 

Your local newspaper is the best medium when you 
decide to break into publicity. If nothing else, you can 
afford a small ad in the Sunday issue. I have found 
the following form effective, inserted in the want 
columns : 



Wanted — 1000 men to have their old hats 
made new. Panama and straw hat bleach- 
ing a specialty. Workmanship guaran- 
teed. Mail orders solicited. The Blank 
Hat Mfg. Co., 1612 Main St. 



As the business expands a street car ad, and later a 
trial at bill-board advertising will prove profitable. If 
possible install a telephone, and your ad in the classified 
trades column of the phone directory, offering to call 
for and deliver work, will keep your business before 
a desirable class of people. Compile a list of business 
and professional men from the city directory or phone 
book, and address them a personal letter, brief and 
well-worded. A letter like the one shown on the next 
page can be turned out by a copying or fac-simile print- 
ing company in quantities at a very nominal sum. 

21 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

Your window should be one of your best advertise- 
ments. Display an old hat — not so old as to make it 
ridiculous — but one that shows plainly the effect of 
grease, wear and handling. Beside it show one of the 
same shape and color that you have recently repaired. 
Put a card below each hat — "Before Cleaning" — and 
"After Cleaning." This is the simplest, strongest argu- 



THE BLANK HAT MFG. CO. 

MANUFACTURERS RENOVATORS 
612 MAIN STREET 



April 3. 1916. 
Mr. J. H. Smith. 

812 Kain Street 
Dear Sir: 

Have you en old hat. but a good 
one -- too good to throw away? A fine felt 
that needs renovating and blocking, a silk 
hat that requires brushing up, or a first 
grade Panama that you would like bleached 
if you could find an expert to do the work 
right? 

Let us show you what hattera can 
do 

Ve make hats and we respect them. 
We can promise you superior work. 
Yours very truly, 
TH2 3IAEK HAT K?C. €0. 



A FACSIMILE COMPANY CAN TURN OUT LETTERS LIKE THIS IN THOUSANDS 
LOTS AT A LOW RATE 



22 



Advertising and Business Systems 

ment for your work that you can devise. The same 
display during the summer season, with a Panama or 
yacht straw in the window, will be equally effective. 
It is best to change the display as often as possible, 
showing each time a hat of different shape or color. 
Otherwise the same old hat day after day will soon be 
too familiar to get a glance from passers-by. Do not 
imitate the "bootblack renovator," who covers one-half 
of a straw with a cheap sulphur wash and the other 
with shoe polish, and puts it in his window as a sample 
of work. That procedure smacks of fraud and decep- 
tion, and is suitable only to the kind of workers who 
commonly make use of it. 

Mail Orders 

One of the most natural fields for expansion is the 
mail order business. This business, with the assistance 
of the parcels post, is extremely profitable and con- 
stantly increases once it is established. Make it plain 
in your advertising that you invite orders by mail, and 
keep in touch with your out-of-town trade by address- 
ing them an occasional circular or personal letter. The 
phone books of adjacent towns will supply a useful 
list of names for circularizing. Always send your work 
out C. O. D., unless the order was accompanied by 

cash 

Business Systems 

Bookkeeping is a necessary department of the busi- 
ness. If you are not acquainted with single or double- 
entry, devise a simple system of your own whereby 
you can keep track of each day's business — your daily 
expenditures as well as cash received for work deliv- 
ered. An ordinary day-book will suffice for this pur- 

23 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

pose. At the end of the month enter your expenditures 
and cash received during the period under itemized 
columns in a ledger. Also keep a record under "cred- 
its" of the few charge accounts which will be neces- 
sary if you do much work for neighboring retailers, 
giving each hatter a separate column of account. 
These records will enable you to compare each month's 
business with the preceding one. 

Aside from the accounts of the responsible retail hat 
dealers and perhaps a few business or professional 
men of good reputation, make it your purpose to do 
a strictly cash business. This applies not only to your 
dealings with customers, but also with those from 
whom you buy. Pay for your trimmings and supplies 
as you go along, and when you receive 10 to 30 days' 
dating, pay within that time. 

Above all, be sure to lay aside enough in your busy 
season to insure you through the months when trade 
is slack. Many a man, depending upon hat renovat- 
ing for a living — particularly when doing business in 
the North, where the winters are long and severe — 
has run on the rocks through disregard of this advice. 
Money will roll in in spring and summer, your busy 
seasons. When the snow flies, and caps and ear-muffs 
hold sway, business in the hat repair shop is practi- 
cally at a standstill, and even the new stocks that you 
make up from the rough hats in your spare time, will 
not bring you any immediate income. There is only 
one safe course — in the prosperous months of spring 
and summer, lay aside $20 to $30 a week, to be used 
in the dull season. Then you will not need to look 
forward with apprehension to the almost certain let-up 
in trade during the cold weather. 

24 



CHAPTER V 

What to Charge 
How to Make Out A Job Ticket 
Preparing the Hats for Cleaning 

"XT J HAT do you charge to clean a hat?" will be 

W your customer's first question. 

Your answer will depend on a number of conditions. 
You must first learn how much work is necessary, if 
new trimmings are required, and if so, what quality. 
In the case of a Panama you must explain the advan- 
tage of the best bleach, and also the extra work re- 
quired and consequently a higher price. 

You should have two prices, one for ordinary hats 
and another for high-priced hats, and use two grades 
of trimming. 

On soft or stiff felt hats retailing for $3.00 and under 
your prices will be about as follows : 

Blocked only $0.50 

Cleaned and blocked 75 

New band (extra) 25 

New binding (extra) 25 

New leather (extra) 25 

On $3.50 to $5.00 hats charge 75 cents to block only, 
$1 to clean and block, and 25 cents extra for each trim- 
ming. On these, of course, you can put in more care- 
ful work and use a better quality of trimmings. 

On straw hats charge as follows : 

Cleaned and blocked $0.50 

Bleached and blocked 75 

25 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

New band (extra) 25 

New leather (extra) 25 

The bleaching is far more satisfactory than clean- 
ing, and you should make an effort to have every cus- 
tomer allow you to bleach his hat. 

For work on Panamas, the charge properly should 
vary according to the grade of the hat, since the re- 
sponsibility is far greater when working on fine hats. 
But until you become expert enough to distinguish be- 
tween a hat worth from $5 to $10, and one valued at 
$25 to $100, you will have to charge one price to all — 
$1.50 to bleach and block, and 25 cents extra for each 
new trimming. When you learn to distinguish a very 
fine hat, you can charge double price for work on those 
grades. 

All prices quoted here are top prices and perhaps 
cannot be asked by a man in a small town who is not 
thoroughly expert. A man with an established busi- 
ness in a big city should easily secure the prices given, 
however. Good work soon becomes known, and a top- 
notcher with little competition can keep up his prices 




STYLE_yfeliGA**0 




CHARGE. 



J^v^_QJl 



JVORK REQUIRED 



N©.k£ 

Delivery 
Promised 



Work deliver*! 
•ntation o f 

Blank Hat 

Mfg. Co.- 

612 Main StrMt 



THE JOB TICKET FILLED OUT 



26 



How to Make Out a Job Ticket 

with the assurance that eventually he will get all the 
worth-while trade, and that even the bargain hunters 
will come to him and pay his price when they want 
good work done. 

Never neglect to emphasize to all Panama customers 




xw 




THE JOB NUMBER SEWN IN WITH THREAD 



that these hats should always be bleached with sulphur 
fumes in an airtight box, and that those pretending to 
clean them for less than you charge will generally be 
found to use oxalic acid, which burns up the fiber. 

After the price has been agreed upon, proceed to 
make your record on the job ticket. This is a form 
printed on flexible card, which is kept with the hat 
while the work is in progress, and used to identify the 
job when the customer calls for it. One end is perfo- 
rated, so that it may be torn off. When work is left, 
the customer receives this coupon, to be used in calling 
for the work. 

Number your ticket and the customer's tag, using 
the next highest number after the last job received. 
Fill in the customer's name (with initials) and ad- 

27 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




REMOVING THE TRIMMINGS 



dress. Put down the date in the correct space, so that 
you will know how long the work has been in the shop. 
Learn when the hat is wanted, and put this down on 
both tickets, which gives the customer a memorandum 
of when he is to call. Learn what style the finished hat 
is to be, and make a record of it. Put down the size, 
first finding out if the size is correct as it is, or if it 
needs stretching. A hat that is brought you after lay- 
ing aside in a wardrobe for a season will often be 
found to have shrunk from its original size. Have 
the customer try on the hat in your presence, and 
learn if the size is correct. Put down the price that 
you have quoted for the job. Write in the proper 
space exactly what work is wanted — whether blocked, 

28 



Preparing for Cleaning 

cleaned, trimmed, etc. Then tear off the coupon for 
the customer and put your record ticket in the hat 
under the leather. 

These tickets should be kept together on your bench 
as you will need to refer to them for each job as it 
comes up for your finishing work. As each hat is 
finished and ready for the trimmer, the ticket should 
be placed inside so that she will know what work is 
wanted. Then when the completed hat comes from 
her hand ready for the customer, the ticket should be 
placed under the leather so that the number is visible 
at a glance when the hat is picked up. After the hat 
is delivered it is well to keep the tickets for a time in 
your letter file, if you have one, or if not in a box for 
the purpose where they can be arranged in alphabetical 
order according to names. 

When enough hats have been taken in to make it 
worth your while to put them in the cleaning bath 
they must be numbered and prepared for the bath. 
First mark the exact center with a piece of white 
chalk on the underbrim of each hat, to be referred to 
later when the hat is being blocked. This point will 
be found where the sweat leather joins together. Then 
raise the outside band and with a strong, double cotton 
thread sew in the number of the hat for identification. 
For this it is better to use Roman numerals (I, II, 
III, IV, etc.), as straight line figures can be made in 
much less time. 

After the entire lot is numbered, proceed to rip the 
trimmings from the hat with a sharp pen-knife, being 
cautious to cut the threads only and not to injure the 
hat nor the trimmings you intend to save. When 
band or leather is to be used over again, according to 

29 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

the customer's request, they should be pinned together 
or put in an envelope and marked, so that they may be 
easily found when the hats are ready to trim. 

In some cases, when the trimmings are stained and 
greasy, they may be left on the hat, and a good brush- 
ing with gasoline while you are cleaning the hat will 
improve their appearance wonderfully. 



30 



CHAPTER VI 

Cleaning Soft Hats 

Preparatory Work — Removing Special Stains 

THE hats are now numbered, ripped (as the re- 
moval of the trimmings is called) and all old 
threads and stitches are removed. 

The first step toward actually cleaning the felt is to 
sort the hats into two lots, one composed of light 
colors and one of dark colors. This is essential, as 
light and dark felt hats cannot be successfully cleaned 
together. Put into one lot the white, pearl, cream, 
belly nutria, side nutria, back nutria, steel and light 
shades of brown; in the other lot dark brown, blue, 
green and black. These two lots must be kept separate 
during the entire cleaning process. 

Ninety-seven per cent, of the hats brought in to be 
cleaned will present no worse problems than grease 
spots or perspiration stains, easily removed with gaso- 
line. Other stains requiring special treatment will 
be encountered occasionally, however, and the careful 
worker will examine each hat separately and carefully. 
Weeks may elapse before you come across such marks 
as blood stains, paint or varnish spots, tar, rust, fruit 
or wine stains or dye stains from contact with cheap 
printed cloth or bunting. Nevertheless, such marks 
occur frequently and the worker who undertakes to 
clean them must be familiar with the methods of re- 
moving them. 

It may be mentioned here that in applying chemicals 

31 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




FOR SMALL STAINS, A SPOTTING PENCIL IS USEFUL 

to small stains a spotting pencil will be useful, permit- 
ting finer work and saving the necessity for getting 
chemicals on the hands. A spotting pencil can be made 
by pointing a small stick of wood like a pencil, or it 
can be bought at any supply house. The pencil can be 
dipped into the bottle and applied to the spot until it 
is thoroughly wet, when scraping with the back of a 
knife and a sponge with clear water will generally re- 
move it. For large spots the solution is poured into 
a saucer and applied with a toothbrush or nailbrush. 
It is not necessary to have separate brushes for each 
solution, as the brush can be thoroughly washed in 
several changes of clear water and dried after each use. 
When using cyanide of potassium, permanganate of 
potash and the various chemicals recommended, it is 
advisable to put on a pair of loose-fitting rubber gloves 

32 



Cleaning Soft Hats 

until spotting and bleaching is completed ; then thor- 
oughly rinse both the article bleached and the rubber 
gloves, being careful not to wet the inside of the 
gloves. When spotting pencil is used on small spots, 
gloves are unnecessary. It is best to have the various 
solutions ready mixed in well-corked bottles, glass 
stoppers being preferred. 

Removing Egg, Milk or Blood Stains 

For egg, milk or blood stains a brisk brushing with 
the penetrating brush is often sufficient. If this fails, 
apply cold water to the stain with a sponge, keeping 
the spot wet for five or ten minutes, then sponge with 
weak ammonia — now try it with your finger nail or 
knife, to see if it is dissolved. If not, owing to the 
age of the stain, wet the spot for another ten or fif- 
teen minutes. When dissolved, take your bone scraper 
— the back of a table knife will do — and rub vigor- 
ously, one way with the nap, following with moist 
sponge and with the penetrating brush until the stain 
disappears. Dry thoroughly before placing the hat in 
the regular gasoline bath, which will be described later. 

If described process fails to do the work dissolve 
one teaspoonful of soap bark in one-half cup of cold 
water, add twenty drops of ammonia and brush the 
spots with this solution, using a toothbrush or nail- 
brush. After brushing for a few minutes wash the 
spot thoroughly with clear water, removing all the 
soap bark, then keep it wet with a 2 per cent, solution 
of pepsin for a half hour or forty-five minutes. Wash 
out with plenty of clear water and let the hat thor- 
oughly dry. If these spots are on an old soiled hat 
that also requires a thorough dry cleaning, be sure 

33 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

that the hat is absolutely dry before placing it in the 
gasoline. 

Never apply alcohol to stains of this nature. 

Paint, Varnish and Tar 
For paint, varnish and tar stains, apply turpentine 
freely for ten minutes, after which alternate appli- 
cations of wood alcohol or denatured alcohol and 
scraping with the bone scraper or knife will dissolve 
the stains. Finish with the penetrating brush. In this 
case it is not necessary to dry the hat as the gasoline 




PENETRATING BRUSH 



bath will remove all traces of the stain. Fresh paint 
stains can often be removed in the gasoline bath, with- 
out the preliminary treatment. 

Vegetable Stains 
For fruit, wine, jelly and coffee stains, rub with a 
tooth or nailbrush dipped in cold water, and apply a 
weak solution — about 5 per cent. — of peroxide of 
hydrogen until stain disappears. Grass stains are re- 
moved by applying ether. Glue, mucilage, syrup and 
candy spots are removed with warm water, drying the 
hat before immersing in the gasoline bath. 

Ink, Dye and Rust 
For ink spots use a 10 per cent, solution of cyanide 
of potassium, which is very poisonous, but very ef- 
fective. If this cannot be used, a saturate solution of 

34 



Cleaning Soft Hats 

oxalic acid will do almost as well. An easy method is 
to wet the spot, then cover it with oxalic acid crystals, 
and pour hot water drop by drop upon the crystals 
until they gradually dissolve. When the spot disap- 
pears, wash in clear water. If the stains cannot be 
removed by this treatment, the following combination 
of oxalic acid and acetic acid will do the work. Take 
4 ounces of 10 per cent, acetic acid, add all the oxalic 
acid it will dissolve (making a saturate solution), then 
add 1 ounce alcohol and brush this solution over the 
spots with a nailbrush or toothbrush. Rub your finger- 
nail or scraper over the spot, and if removed wash out 
thoroughly with clear water. Dye stains, such as the 
drippings from cheap bunting after a rain, will yield 
to a solution of permanganate of potash followed by 
hydrogen peroxide. This treatment, which has a 
bleaching tendency, can only be used on Panamas, 
straws and white felts. Rust, iron and metallic stains 
can be removed by applying a saturate solution of 
oxalic acid, afterwards sponging off with warm water. 

How to Clean Greasy Hats 
The stains enumerated above are some of the occa- 
sional problems you will meet. They should be treated 
before the hat enters the gasoline bath or the straw 
or Panama enters the bleach, as the general cleaning 
removes the various odors and prevents the formation 
of rings and circles. As a rule, however, the hats will 
show nothing more than grease spots and perspiration 
stains, which only require to be treated with gasoline. 

Preparatory Bath for Badly Stained Hats 
Remove the very greasy hats from each lot and give 
them a preparatory bath in the following manner: 

35 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




SCOURING BRUSH 



Pour a gallon of gasoline — use only gasoline testing 
76 per cent, proof, or over — in a large wash basin, 
enamel ware preferred. Immerse the greasiest of the 
lot for a minute, then with your scouring brush, which 
should not be too stiff, brush the grease stains firmly 
and vigorously, often dipping your brush in the gaso- 
line. Always hold the brush firmly in your right hand 
and rub away from you — that is, with the nap of the 
hat as it lays on the palm of your left hand. On the 
very greasy hats two or three minutes may be spent 
in this way. Slightly soiled hats do not require such 
treatment. 



36 



CHAPTER VII 



Cleaning Soft Hats (Continued) 

The Gasoline Bath for All Soiled Hats 

AFTER the preparatory bath, all conspicuous 
stains being now removed, place the greasiest 
light-colored soft hat on your cleaning board or table, 
flat on the brim and stack the less greasy light-colored 
soft hats over the bottom hat until the least soiled hat 
is on top. Then stack up the black or dark-colored 
soft hats in like manner, leaving you two stacks or 
lots of hats, one lot of light colors, and one of dark 
colors. Then force the top hats down over the others 
until the crowns are in one another, thereby making 
two compact piles or bales. Place each pile in a sepa- 
rate small round wash boiler and pour five gallons of 




LIGHT AND DARK HATS STACKED FOR THE CLEANING BATH 

37 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

gasoline in each boiler, the light hats being placed in 
one boiler and the dark ones in the other. 

If you should have a few greasy Panamas in the 
lot, you can stack them with the light-colored soft 
hats, but be sure to place them on top to prevent crush- 
ing and perhaps breaking the fibre, always first re- 
moving the perspiration stains in the preparatory bath, 
as you do with felt hats. 

This work should be all performed in the two hours 
preceding your closing time. When your hats are 
placed in the boilers, put the lids on tightly to prevent 
the evaporation of gasoline, and carry them out to 
your outside shed or gasoline closet, which should be 
under lock and key, and let them soak over night. 

If you have no facilities to build an outside shed, 
place the boilers in a safe corner of your shop, away 
from matches, stores or lights of any kind, but if you 
possibly can, build an outside gasoline shop for your 
own protection as well as to comply with the regula- 
tions of the insurance companies. 

If the operator does not possess better facilities, 
means might be rigged up for holding the cans out- 
side the window sill or they might be placed satisfac- 
torily in the cellar. 

Your hats having been soaked in gasoline over 
night, you should arrange, immediately after opening 
your shop in the morning, to give them a general 
cleaning. Do this even before you sweep out or build 
your fires. 

Gasoline Precautions 

In working with gasoline there are several precau- 
tions you must bear in mind, ignorance or neglect of 

38 



Cleaning Soft Hats 

which has brought many a man into trouble. As you 
know, if you bring gasoline into contact with fire it 
will probably explode, setting fire to the shop and 
doing you personal injury. Gasoline fumes are al- 
most as inflammable as the liquid itself. The best 
place to do your cleaning is in a yard or a rear porch 
under a roof. If such a place is not to be had, or if 
the weather prevents your using it, you will be obliged 
to do the work in the rear of your shop. Locate your- 
self near an open window. Make a rule, and keep it, 




THE BRUSHES FOR DARK AND LIGHT HATS MUST BE 
PLAINLY MARKED 



that no smokers shall be permitted to approach you. 
Extinguish all lights and fires, and before relighting, 
open the doors and windows in front and rear, making 
a draft that will carry away the fumes. 

In cleaning hats with gasoline, the back of the 
hands and the underside of the arm will sometimes 
become badly inflamed, as in a case of sunburn, after 
long contact with the gasoline. Cold cream rubbed 
on the affected parts will give instant relief. 

Having attended to all precautions, put on an oil- 

39 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

cloth apron of double thickness to prevent soiling your 
clothes and start cleaning the hats. 

The ten or twelve hours' soaking will help wonder- 
fully to dissolve all the grease and perspiration in the 
hats. Pour \ l /i gallons of gasoline into a basin, leav- 
ing the hats in the five-gallon can as long as possible. 
Always clean the light hats first. Take the top hat — 
which should be the least soiled — from the five-gallon 
can (all the rest of the hats remaining in the large 
can until their turn) and filling your scouring brush 
with gasoline, brush the hat with the nap, holding it 
over the basin, and immersing the hat and brush fre- 
quently. Brush and clean the crown thoroughly, then 
the underbrim and finally the upperbrim. Then hang 
the hat on a peg above your basin, so that you may 
catch the drippings, and proceed in like manner on 
hat No. 2 and so on until you come to the bottom or 
more greasy hats, when your brushing should become 
more vigorous. Around the band mark where the 
greasy perspiration marks are most pronounced you 
may brush to and fro, remembering that the more vig- 
orously you brush the more certain you are that all the 
perspiration and grease spots have disappeared and 
will not reappear after the hat has been blocked and 
finished. After cleaning each hat hang it on the peg 
until it is through dripping, after which it should be 
hung on a separate peg, where it can partially dry. 
If convenient, you may place it in the sunshine for 
five or ten minutes — not longer, because a complete 
drying is not yet desirable. A row of pegs should be 
provided where you do your cleaning. These should 
be about 7 feet from the ground, and the pegs should 
be 10 inches in length and spaced one foot apart. 

40 



Cleaning Soft Hats 




AT LEAST TWENTY OF THESE PEGS SHOULD BE PROVIDED NEAR YOUR 
CLEANING BENCH 

They should be at least 20 in number. If space is 
limited, the pegs may be alternated, as shown in the 
illustration. 

Preserving Used Gasoline 
When you are through with the gasoline in your 
basin, pour it into a separate five-gallon can with a 
tight lid, the can being used exclusively to settle your 
used gasoline, and after the dirt is settled on the bot- 
tom you may either syphon or gently pour off the 
clear gasoline and use it over again, pouring the sedi- 
ment away. Gasoline treated in this manner can be 
used three or four times for light hats and continu- 
ously for dark hats. Do not use soaps in your gaso- 
line unless you desire to use some of the French Dry 
Cleaning soaps, which have a tendency to improve 
the work on very delicate colors and especially on 
ladies' silk, beaver, plush and velvet hats. When 
soaps are used the hats must always be thoroughly 
rinsed afterwards in clear gasoline, free from soap. 

How to Warm Gasoline 
If the weather is cold it is desirable to heat the 
gasoline to overcome the discomfort of working with 

41 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

the hands in cold gasoline. In fact, it is preferable to 
heat the gasoline in summer, as well as winter, be- 
cause hot gasoline is a more effective cleaner. The 
most pronounced cases of dirt and grease will yield 
to hot gasoline and vigorous brushing. 

Place the can in a small boiler or tub containing 
about two gallons of boiling water, which should be 
carried azvay from your heating apparatus before 
placing the can therein. Leave the can of gasoline 
in the hot water for ten minutes. If cold weather 
you will find this treatment makes the work far more 
pleasant and the results more effective. Again let 
me caution you to do this and all other work away 
from any stove or blaze while the gasoline is exposed. 

After the sunshine has partly dried your hats and 
your scouring brush is almost dry give them the last 
brushing. The hats under no circumstances should 
be absolutely dry for the last brushing. Brush the 
hats one way, excepting the very greasy ones, which 
should be vigorously brushed back and forth to create 
friction, which will cause the remaining grease or 
perspiration to disappear, through evaporation. 

Now place the hats in the sunshine again for com- 
plete drying, or hang up for several hours. Do not 
attempt to block or finish them until thoroughly dry. 
If you place your hats in the open for drying, be sure 
that no soot is falling from nearby chimneys. If 
there is danger of their being soiled in this way it 
is better to dry them indoors, although it may take 
a few hours longer. If your delicate-colored hats 
should accidentally become marked in this way, first 
try to blow the spots off, and if this is not successful 
rub gently with the nap with a clean rubber eraser. 

42 



Cleaning Soft Hats 

When you have cleaned all the light-colored hats 
treat the dark hats in the same manner. Have a sep- 
arate brush for the dark hats, marking the brushes 
so that they are easily distinguished. A mistake in 
the case of a light hat will invariably mean doing the 
hat over again. 

Sometimes, after the hat is dry, a white mark re- 
mains, resembling a salt stain. This is due to the 
alkaline nature of the perspiration, and when dry can 
be removed by brushing hard with the penetrating 
brush and sponging with a moist sponge applied to the 
hat iron and brushed quickly over the stain. 

Cleaning Trimmed Hats 

As stated before, many hats, both stiff and soft, 
may be cleaned without removing the trimmings, 
especially if they are of good quality. These hats 
should be cleaned first and the bands given a good 
brushing while they are on the hat, using gasoline 
liberally on your brush. You will soon become so ex- 
pert that the bands and bindings that go through your 
hands will look like new, except where they are worn 
and frayed. If the color is conspicuously faded the 
trimmings can be turned inside out. When the trim- 
mings are in bad condition, however, it is best to per- 
suade the customer to pay for new ones. 



43 



B 



CHAPTER VIII 



Stiffening and Blocking 

EFORE blocking the hats cleaned in our last 
chapter, assort them to ascertain which require 
stiffening. Not more than one in ten will need to be 
stiffened, as with a hat in an ordinary condition of 
repair a wet sponge over the felt when on the blocks 
and a hot iron in finishing brings up the original 
stiffening. 

Take one ounce of gum tragacanth and dissolve in a 
two quart enamel basin in one quart of water, putting 
a lid on the basin and standing it aside for two or 
three days to dissolve. On the third day, strain 
through cheese cloth, crushing the soft lumps between 
your fingers until the whole substance is of the con- 
sistency of molasses. This solution can be used for 
weeks, because it need only be used on a small per- 
centage of the hats. 

Stiffening the Hats 

Take the hats that require stiffening, turn them in- 
side out and pull them down over any block that will 
fit into them easily. Then with a short haired stencil 
brush or a sponge, apply the gum to the hat, pounding 
and rubbing it vigorously with the palm of your hands 
until the surface is clear and smooth and the gum is 
pounded thoroughly into the body of the hat. If wet 
spots appear on the outside of the hat, it indicates that 
the gum is too thin. It can be thickened by boiling 

44 



Stiffening and Blocking 

for about ten minutes. It must be cold when applied, 
however. 

Stiffening with Shellac 

Should some of your trade ask for a still stiffer or 
"board" brim, you can produce it in the following 
manner : Buy some dissolved orange shellac from a 
hatters' supply house — or buy some orange shellac at 
a drug store and dissolve it in a mason jar by covering 
the shellac with wood (or denatured) alcohol, occa- 
sionally shaking the jar during the day until the shellac 
has thoroughly dissolved. It is important, by the way, 
that the shellac should be of the proper consistency. 
It is safer to make it very thin, so as to be sure that 
the felt will not come up too stiff or "boardy." Pour 
some of the dissolved shellac out in a saucer and add 
equal parts of denatured alcohol, so that the mixture 
is of the consistency of rich milk. 

Shellac should always be applied to the inside and 
upper brim of the hat. For applying the solution, a 
sponge should be bought new, and kept for this pur- 
pose only, in a covered jar of alcohol, to prevent hard- 
ening. 

Turn the hat inside out and put it firmly on the 
block. Saturate your sponge with the prepared solu- 
tion. Then commencing at the bottom, where the 
chalk mark indicates the back of the hat, apply the 
shellac with a long stroke and a gentle pressure, in- 
creasing the pressure as you proceed, until the top 
and center of the crown is reached. Be careful not 
to go over the same spot twice, as this would make the 
hat stiffen in that spot more than elsewhere, and the 
object is to make the stiffening uniform. 

45 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




PULL THE CORD TIGHT AROUND THE HAT, Yi INCH ABOVE THE BAND-MARK 

Now turn the hat back again, lay the brim in the 
semi-circle of your bench, and repeat the stiffening 
process on the underbrim, which should be slightly 
stiffer than the crown. After the shellac has thor- 
oughly worked into the underbrim, it should be gently 
patted and brushed with the penetrating brush from 
the band mark out toward the edge of the brim, to 
stretch the nap. Patting or pounding with the palm 
of the hand is unnecessary. 

If not as stiff as desired, when dry, repeat the opera- 
tion again, remembering that if the shellac is not ap- 
plied evenly, the brim when dry and finished will be 
stiffer in some places than others. The third or fourth 
experience in using shellac for stiffening purposes will 
make you quite proficient. 

After the hat is thoroughly dry, following the stiff- 
ening, brush it vigorously with a hard, dry sponge to 
clear up the nap or surface of the felt. 

46 



Stiffening and Blocking 

Shellac stiffening should only be applied to hats re- 
quiring extra stout brims, such as the broad brimmed 
hats used by cattlemen and military men. In the or- 
dinary soft hat the thing desired is to turn out a hat 
that is soft and mellow, and if stiffening is needed for 
these, gum tragacanth should be used. 

A Word on Hatters' Sponges 

A word here in regard to the quality of sponges to 
be used for work on hats may not be amiss. When a 
sponge is specified, the ordinary soft bath sponge, such 
as the general public is familiar with will not do. A 
close, tight sponge is required — the kind that is used 
in hat factories and that may be obtained from the 
hatters' supply houses. The small sheepswool sponge 
is the proper sponge for all hatters' purposes. 

The hats are now ready for blocking. 

Sort out the faded hats, which must be turned inside 
out and finished on the inside where the original color 
of the hat is still bright and untouched by wear and 
weather. These, of course, will be blocked inside out. 
Hats that require stiffening and are so faded as to call 
for turning, should be stiffened on the faded side, 
which will be the inside of the finished hat. 

Notes on Hat Blocks 

Each hat requires a block of the proper shape and 
correct size, in accordance with the wearer's instruc- 
tions written on the job ticket and indicated by the 
number on the hat. 

The beginner is not usually in a position to buy all 
the fancy telescope and alpine crown blocks. Most 
of these effects can be produced by hand, however, 

47 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

after the hat is finished and trimmed. This work will 
be described later. 

Before buying the blocks and flanges the market 
should be investigated to find whether second hand 
staple blocks may not be available at a much lower 
price than a new equipment would cost. Considerable 
money may often be saved in this way. 

For Perspiration-Stained Hats 

When cleaning fine hats for men who perspire copi- 
ously and whose hats are grease-marked from contact 
with the forehead, it is always best to block them one 
size larger, and have the trimmer sew a cork corruga- 
tion between the front of the hat and the sweat band. 
You can then assure the customer that his hat will not 
again become stained and so make him a permanent 




QUICKLY BUT GENTLY PULL ON THE BRIM UNTIL ALL WRINKLES DISAPPEAR 
(AT RIGHT — THE PULLER-DOWN) 



48 



Stiffening and Blocking 

patron. This is a trick that can also be used in reno- 
vating stiff and Panama hats. 

Blocking Soft Hats 

Put the hat on the block, perfectly dry, working it 
down with the hands as far as you safely can without 
special exertion. Block so that the rear of the brim 
will become the new front in the finished hat, which 
will provide a new wearing surface at that part of the 
hat. Also see that the number of the hat is in the 
front. Next the blocking cord is put on (see illustra- 
tion). This should be about half an inch above the 
band mark, which is the mark or crease where brim 
and crown meet. It is usually a rather heavy cord 
which can be obtained of the hatters' supply houses, 
and is put on with a tight slip-knot. Pull the cord 
tight, wetting the knot to hold the hat firmly. 

Steaming Soft Hats 

After the entire lot are put on the required blocks, 
they will need to be slightly steamed before they are 
pulled down. Place the steamer with about two inches 
of water — you will soon learn to use no more water 
than is actually required — on one burner of your gas 
or gasoline stove, the other burner being reserved for 
heating the iron. When the water boils, remove the 
lid and put the block in the steamer. The crown should 
be steamed only about 15 or 20 seconds, which will 
shrink it enough to make it grip the block tightly. 
Steaming more than 15 seconds makes the hat too 
porous, especially if it is pulled too hard. Then, using 
the puller-down, quickly but gently pull on the brim 
until all wrinkles disappear and the hat is firmly on 

49 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




THE CORD IS WORKED DOWN TO THE BAND-MARK WITH THE RUNNER-DOWN 

the block, after which the cord may be worked down 
to the band-mark with the runner-down. 

Methods used in finishing soft hats depend largely 
on the quality of the hat. In finishing very fine hats 
which fit easily on the block use but little steam. 

If the shape is to be altered from a tapering or 
alpine effect to a fuller crown, such as the Dakota, the 
hat after steaming should be worked down over the 
block with the palm of the right hand until the tip of 
the crown is perfectly flat on the block. Then a little 
pull with the puller-down will remove all the wrinkles, 
but work mostly with your palms and sparingly with 
the puller-down. Such hats may need to be steamed 
two or three times. 



50 



CHAPTER IX 



Ironing and Pouncing 

NOW the hats are on the blocks, the steam dried 
out, and ready for ironing and finishing. 
First look at the bottom of your iron and see that it 
is perfectly clean. If not, the surface should be lightly 
sandpapered. To prevent scorching, cool the iron by 
dipping the nose into the finisher's tub. You will soon 
learn by the sound produced whether the iron is down 
to the right temperature. In ironing light colors, a 
cloth of duck or Canton flannel should be laid over the 
hat to make certain that the iron does not soil the 
work. 




A CLOTH WILL PREVENT LIGHT COLORS FROM BECOMING SOILED 



51 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




WHILE IRONliNG THE CROWN, PULL CONSTANTLY ON THE BRIM TO 
PRESERVE ITS PROPORTIONS 

Having the iron prepared, dip your sheep's wool 
sponge (only one sponge being necessary for all light 
colors and one for all dark colors) into the clean water 
in your finisher's tub or basin, stationed on the right 
hand far corner of your bench. Squeeze out the 
sponge thoroughly and run it over one side of the 
crown, rubbing hard with the nap. Then iron dry, 
always with the nap, until the water marks disappear 
and a gloss comes up, proving that it has been well 
ironed. Repeat the operation on the other side, and 
continue until the sides, front and back have been 
ironed. Then do the same to the top, always ironing 
in one direction, and endeavoring to spin a nice center 
to the top of the crown. Turn the block on the bench 
while ironing. 

When a hat is being ironed there is always a ten- 
dency for the brim to get narrower and the crown 
higher. Therefore it is important to remember to 

52 



Ironing and Pouncing 

pull constantly on the edge of the brim while ironing 
so as to keep the brim at its original width. 

Pouncing Soft Hats 

When the ironing of both the light and dark hats 
has been completed, work out the hair by rubbing over 
the surface with fine emery paper, being careful to 
rub the nap one way only. 

Strips of emery paper about 3x4 inches in size are 
used as a pad being placed in the curved palm of the 
hand and then rubbed over the surface of the felt in 
such a way as to cut out the short hairs without cut- 
ting or tearing the fibre of the felt. 

On a fine hat fine emery paper — 7-0 to 8-0 — should 
be used while for a coarser hat 5-0 to 6-0 would be 
best. On a fine hat the coarser paper would cut the 
fibre and make the surface raw, while on a coarser 
hat the fine paper would not cut out the hair. 

As stated, the paper is applied by using three or 
four thicknesses formed in a pad which is held in the 
curved palm of the hand. It is the general practice 
to take a number of thicknesses of old pieces with 
one thickness of fresh paper on top. The piece of 
fresh sharp paper will give the proper results when 
first used for the pouncing and then in order to finish 
off the surface a piece of old dull emery paper is used 
in order not to cut too much. In other words, a fresh 
sharp paper to start pouncing and an old dull paper 
to finish it up. 

Care must be taken to pounce every part of the 
surface of the hat evenly, applying the same amount 
of work and the same pressure upon all parts of the 
surface. 

53 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

The brim must then be pounced in the same manner 
on both sides. It is not necessary to use as fine paper 
for pouncing the brim as for pouncing the crown. 

This pouncing treatment, it should be said, does not 
apply to scratch-up beavers or velours. A special 
finishing treatment for these hats is described further 
on. 

Pouncing requires trained skill and judgment, and 
the beginner should experiment on some old castaway 
hats or "will calls," which can usually be secured from 
the retail stores for little or nothing. By faithful 
practice and the exercise of patience, proficiency in 
this work should soon be reached. 

Finishing Powders and Greases 

In working cheap coarse hats or hats that show 
mottled and streaky color, powders serve a purpose at 
this stage. With fine hats, finishing powders are not 
used. 

The powders, which may be secured from the hat- 
ters' supply houses in the colors most in demand — 
commonly belly nutria, white, light pearl, blue pearl, 
cream and otter — are applied with pads or bags of 
cheese cloth, double or triple thickness, each bag filled 




FINISHING POWDERS SHOULD BE TIED IN BAGS OF CHEESE CLOTH AND 
KEPT IN SEPARATE BOXES 



54 



Ironing and Pouncing 




A HOT IRON MELTS THE 

FINISHERS' GREASE INTO 

THE LURE 



with a separate color, tied at the top to prevent waste, 
and each bag kept in a separate box. 

A grease pad or lure, one for each color powder, will 
also be required. These can be made of light duck 
filled with cotton, and should be about \y 2 inches thick, 
and 3 by 6 inches in size. An extra grease pad is also 
needed to be used on black, blue, green and all dark 
colored hats. These should be loaded with finisher's 
grease — cocoanut oil being very satisfactory — by 
spreading it evenly over the entire surface of one side 
of the pad and melting it in by applying a hot iron 
to the oiled side of the pad, taking care not to scorch 
the pad. 

The powder is applied by dusting and rubbing the 
pad over the crown, belly nutria to belly nutria hats, 
light pearl to light pearl hats, etc., covering them with 
the powders and rubbing them in with the palm of your 
hand. Then rub on the grease pad quickly and vigor- 
ously, first touching the pad to the hot iron to melt 

55 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

the grease. Rub first against the nap and then with 
the nap until the hat has a glossy appearance. To re- 
move the glaze, work over it, with dull emery paper, 
which will also help to distribute and work the grease 
in, then give the upper brim a good heavy dash of cold 
water with the sponge, and iron the hat dry. As a dead 
finish is desired on the better grades of hats neither 
the grease pad nor the powders are used in finishing 
them. 



56 



CHAPTER X 



Brim Work (Soft Hats) 

THE underbrim should be ironed, to remove the 
wrinkles, and give the brim the proper form, 
before the finishing work is done on the crown. This 
is done by turning the hat on the block upside down, 
and inserting it in the half circle that is cut out of the 
work bench. Then, when the crown is finished, take 
the hat from the blocks, insert the proper band block, 
and iron the upper brim on the bottom-board. In 
ironing, short strokes should be taken with the ironing 
shell, to avoid marking on the quarters of the board. 




INSERT THE BAND-BLOCK AND IRON THE UPPER BRIM ON 
THE BOTTOM BAND 



57 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

Ironing the Brim 

As the brim is being ironed, and while the parts are 
still steaming, the iron or brass foot-tolliker should be 
run at frequent intervals over the band-mark, press- 
ing very firmly, as a perfect band-mark is one of the 
features most essential to a well finished job. A piece 



3MSS FOOT TQLUKER 




WHILE THE BRIM IS BEING IRONED, PRESS FIRMLY ON THE 
BAND-MARK WITH FOOT TOLLIKER 

of twine tied tightly around the band-mark while the 
hat is on the band-block, will also help. 

When the brim is thoroughly ironed, pounce by rub- 
bing both upper and under brim with emery paper, 
treat with the hot grease lure as was done in finishing 
the crown, and take off the glaze with dull sand-paper. 

Changing Brim Widths to Order 

Frequently, a hat is left with the renovator with 
instructions to alter the width of the brim. This work 

58 



Brim Work (Soft Hats) 

must be done while the hat is still on the block in the 
process of blocking and finishing. 

Making a hat brim wider or narrower to order is a 
delicate job, requiring the utmost skill and experience. 
However, by using careful judgment you may be able 
to undertake it in cases where the alteration is in- 
sisted upon. 

Where a wider brim is asked for, the blocking cord 



/: 



IF THE CROWN IS 
SQUARE, A LITTLE 
MORE BRIM MAY BE 
GAINED BY PUTTING 
IT ON AN OVAL BLOCK 




must be adjusted about J^ or ^4 of an inch above the 
band-mark. To make the brim T / 2 inch wider you 
must reduce the crown at least ^4 of an inch in height. 
Sometimes, if the crown is square, a little may be 
gained by making it an oval, giving the hat surplus 
height which can be pulled out into the brim. Apply 
plenty of water to the underbrim, iron it with a hot 
iron, thereby creating the necessary steam, and quickly 
pull on the edge of the brim with both hands pulling 
away from each other so as to stretch it to the new 
size. 

For a narrower brim and higher crown, run the 
blocking cord down the hat with the runner-down 
until the brim below the cord measures the desired 
width. This, of course, will result in wrinkles where 
the spreading brim is squeezed under the cord. To 

59 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

remove these hold the block in the left hand and lay 
the brim in the semi-circle at the corner of your fin- 
isher's bench. Sponge the underbrim thoroughly and 
run the iron over it until the wrinkles disappear. Very 
obstinate ones can be eradicated as follows : Steam the 
brim thoroughly and quickly place the block on the 
spinner. Then, holding the crown with one hand, pull 
steadily and gently downward at the edge of the brim 
with the fingers of the other, so as to remove the 
wrinkles. Keep steaming, ironing and pulling the 
edge downward only, until the new band-mark is up 
to the blocking cord. 

Both in widening a brim and in making it narrower, 
a rounding jack must be employed after the upper 
brim is ironed dry, to secure a perfectly round edge. 
The use of the rounding jack is described later in the 
chapter on curling. Sometimes, in the case of a brim 
with a perfect curl which you wish to return or a nar- 
row brim with bound edge from which the trimming 
is not to be removed, you can "iron in" a perfect band- 
mark without spoiling the curl or removing the trim- 
ming by the use of a small toy iron, bought at a toy 
store or a five and ten cent store. If this is not satis- 
factory a special iron may be made at a foundry, as 
there is as yet no satisfactory substitute on the market. 
It should be about 4 inches long, 2y 2 inches deep and 
\y 2 inches wide, and curved on the left side to fit your 
band block. The handle, about 2 inches deep, should 
slant away from the curved side. If the edge on the 
hollow or curved side of this iron is quite sharp, a 
perfect band-mark may be made with it, in many cases 
without the necessity of removing the binding and re- 
curling the brim. In using this kind of a brim iron, 

60 



Brim Work (Soft Hats) 





THIS SPECIAL IRON FOR IRONING BAND-MARK WITHOUT REMOVING TRIMMINGS 
CAN BE MADE AT A FOUNDRY 



always use it with the heel from you and take care in 
having it made that the curved side is so located that 
you can do this. It is best to make a model of wood 
for the foundry man to work from. 

The Final Touches on the Block 

After the brim has been ironed, pounced and lured, 
put the hat on the block again, go over the crown 
lightly with a sponge, distributing the moisture evenly, 
and set to one side to dry. This cleans up any mottle 
that may have developed in the handling. 

The hat, still on the block, is now ready for the 
smoke bath which is applied only to the darker colors 
— blacks, dark greens, dark blues, dark browns, etc., 
the smoke filling up the pores of the hat wherever 
the colors may have been cut in the pouncing after 
the dull paper was used. The smoke bath also pro- 
duces the desirable dead finish. 

The smoke is obtained by cotton waste soaked in 
crude oil in a metal pot, which, when lighted, will 

61 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

produce the smoke required. The pot should have a 
tin cover to place over it in order to put out the flame 
after use. The hat on the block should be held in the 
smoke, the hand being turned from one side to the 
other until the body is thoroughly smoked. Then rub 
with a dry cloth to take off the effect of the singe. 
Singeing to produce a dead finish is only used on dark 
hats, the sponging being sufficient for the purpose on 
the light hats, such as pearls, belly-nutria and side- 
nutria. 

The hat is now ready to slip off the block. Round 
the brim to the proper proportions with the rounding 
jack, mark the back of the hat on the underbrim with 
a piece of chalk, marking the exact center according 
to the block, remove the cord and take the hat off the 
block, using a slip stick between crown and block in 
case the hat sticks. After the hat is off the block, con- 




m 



WHEN THE HAT STICKS, RUN THE SLIP STICK AROUND THE BLOCK 

62 



Brim Work (Soft Hats) 

tinue the chalk mark made on the underbrim into the 
crown about one inch, which will indicate the back and 
exact center, serving as a guide for the trimmer. 



63 



CHAPTER XI 



Curling Soft Hats 

WHETHER you intend to confine your work to 
soft hats or to branch out into stiff hat altera- 
tion, a knowledge of curling will be absolutely essen- 
tial. All raw edge hats — except of course those in- 
tended to have flat brims — will need to be recurled 
after they are cleaned and trimmed, and before they 
are flanged. Bound hats from which the binding has 
been removed, changing them to raw edges, will also 
require curling. 

If stiff hat work is contemplated, a more extensive 
outfit and a more complete mastery of the art of curl- 
ing will be needed. For the beginner, however, a 
knowledge of soft hat curling is all that is necessary. 

Tools Required for Soft Hat Curling 

For curling soft hats your equipment should be: 
two round shackles (or curling tools), one a half-inch 
shackle, and for producing heavier curls such as are 
used on Fedora hats and turbans, a seven-eighths-inch 
round shackle. Of these tools the one you will use 
most will be the half-inch shackle — in fact, if you do 
not wish at first to trouble yourself with the shackles 
of various widths and styles, you can get along satis- 
factorily for some time with the half -inch round 
shackle alone. Nearly all soft hats can be curled with 
this tool. 

64 



Curling Soft Hats 

The Use of the Rounding Jack 

The rounding jack is employed where the brim of 
the hat is to be made narrower before it is curled. If 
the customer wishes the brim width to remain the same, 
the rounding jack is not used. 

The brim is cut down in the following manner : Set 
your rounding jack to the desired width and adjust 
the blade to about one-eighth inch, so that it will just 
penetrate the felt without marking the brim board un- 
derneath. The hat is now on the brim board, the band 




THE ROUNDING JACK IN PLACE 



block inserted in the crown, the brim ironed and the 
band mark sharp and distinct. With your left hand, 
ringers and thumb outstretched, hold the brim firmly 
to the band block, as it lies flat on the brim board. 
Then put the rounding jack in place, pressing it against 
the band block and pull it toward you, revolving the 
hat until the circle is complete and the brim is evenly 
rounded. 

65 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




THE CURLING SHACKLE FOR SOFT AND STIFF BRIMS 

How the Curling Shackle is Used 

If the hat has a broad brim (stiff military brim) or 
if it is a style that is worn flat with no curl, no more 
work is necessary. But should it require curling, your 
half-inch shackle will come into use. 

With your wet sponge, moisten about half an inch 
of the felt, all around the edge of the brim — both upper 
and under brim. Do not get it too wet, but just moist. 
Now take your half-inch curling shackle from the 
curling stove, where it has been heating, and run it to 
and fro over the moistened edge until the desired curl 
is obtained. The same precautions should be observed 
here as in ironing. The shackle should be absolutely 
clean and free from dust, and if so hot that there is 
danger of scorching the felt, should be cooled slightly 
by dipping in your tub of water. 

It is not easy at first to make an even curl on the 
brim, and you will have to watch your work constantly. 
But with a good eye and a steady hand you will note 
a remarkable improvement after you have curled a 
dozen or more hats. 

66 



Curling Soft Hats 




THE HINGE SHACKLE FOR PENCIL CURLS 

Should a flat edge or D'Orsay curl be desired, you 
can either use a five-eighth-inch D'Orsay curling 
shackle or, lacking this, you can curl in the regular 
way and press the edge of the curl flat by ironing it 
under a damp cloth. 

In seasons when heavy curled brims are the vogue, 
a seven-eighth-inch curling shackle will be better than 
the half-inch one. 

For pencil curls, a hinge shackle, as illustrated, has 
been invented, allowing the shackle to be removed 
without cracking the finished curl. 

Final Work on the Brim 

After the hat is curled and trimmed the brim should 
be flanged and set. The quickest and most effective 
way to do this is with the flanging block and the hot 
sand bag, the use of which will be described in the 
next chapter. The beginner, however, may find the 
equipment for this work too expensive to be pur- 
chased immediately — as a number of styles and widths 
are required, each in at least six sizes — from 6^4 

to 7y s . 

67 



J 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

If you intend to conduct a department for the finish- 
ing of rough bodies, you can hardly get along without 
this equipment. But for regular renovating work, you 
can do very nicely at first by shaping the hats by hand, 

Boil the water in your steamer, move one side of 
your brim over the hot steam until it becomes flexible 
and soft. Then roll it up slightly with thumb and 
fingers until you have the desired set. While it is still 
steaming you can put it on your curling board and 
shape the brim by rubbing your thumbs over the upper 
brim. Then repeat with the other side. Then steam 
the front and back, dipping them as desired, cooling 
them ofr" and shaping or setting the brim on the curling 
board. 



68 



CHAPTER XII 

Flanging 

FLANGING is for the purpose of firmly setting the 
brim in the desired shape. It is applied to soft 
hats only. 

For a time you can get along by shaping your brims 
by hand, but when your business begins to grow, and 
particularly when you begin to finish hats from the 
rough, a flanging outfit will be a necessity. 

The requirements are : a flanging bench ; sand bag ; 
baker; flange stand, and a variety of flange blocks 
suitable for the different styles of brims. 

The Flanging Bench 

The bench should be 24 inches high, 4 feet long and 
15 inches wide. This will give you room to prepare 
one hat on the flange while another is flanging. 

The Sand Bag 

The sand bag is a metal pan similar to a dishpan, 
with a small hole in the bottom into which the fine 
sand can be poured. It should be about 18 inches in 
diameter. Over the top of this pan is placed a piece 
of heavy white drill or canvas, and over this a piece 
of canton flannel to give a softer surface. The double 
cloth is then fastened in place by being turned over 
the edge of the pan and securely tied in place with a 
stout string. The pan is then inverted and filled with 
very fine sand. 

69 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




GAS STOVE 
COVERED VITtl 
PfECE CF TIN 



FLANGE AND . 
FLANGE STAND >sl 



HOW THE FLANGING APPARATUS IS ARRANGED 



The finished sand bag, ready for use, may be bought 
from the supply houses. In some of the larger fac- 
tories the sand bags are used with a flexible electrical 
heating element embedded in the sand, keeping them 
always at the right temperature. 

To permit you to handle the bag quickly and easily, 
a pulley arrangement must be rigged up directly over 
the flanging bench and the sand bag hooked to the 
pulley, so that when lowered it will rest on the baker. 

70 



Flanging 

This should be arranged on the principle of the block - 
and-tackle, as shown in the illustration, which greatly 
reduces the resistance of the weight to the pull of 
the operator. 

Where the ceiling offers no beam heavy enough to 
support the bag, the whole thing may be constructed 
as part of the flanging bench — a heavy support at 
each end of the bench, surmounted by a beam into 
which the hooks can be screwed. The best position 
for this overhead beam is about midway between the 
baker and the part of the table on which you will do 
your flanging. This will enable you to swing the bag 
easily from the baker to the hat on the flange. 

The Baker 

The baker is simply a means of heating the sand 
bag, for it is by both weight and heat that the bag 
acts on the hat. In the large factories the baker is 
usually a pipe radiator laid on its side and covered 
with a sheet of tin. Every shop must devise its own 
baker, according to the heating facilities available. 

In the average small shop, a four-burner kitchen 
gas-stove, such as may be bought or rented from the 
gas company, should serve the purpose. With the gas 
turned very low, and the whole covered with a sheet 
of iron or tin, this should make a serviceable baker. 

Over the tin is usually placed a piece of heavy 
cloth which will assure the bag against burning, if 
the baker chances to get too hot. 

When not in use the sand bag rests on the baker, so 
that it is always hot and ready for use. 

n 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




FLANGE FOR CURLED BRIMS 



/J\ FLANGE FOR UNCURLED 

BRIMS 



FLANGE STAND 



Flange Stand and Blocks 



The flange stand is a foundation for the flanging 
block, having two iron pegs over which the block fits, 
and being hollow in the center to accommodate the 
crown of the hat — for all the work in flanging is done 
on the underbrim with the crown down. 

Two general types of flange blocks are used — one 
for curled brims and one for brims that have no curl. 
The block for curled brims is smaller in circumference 
than the brim of the hat, so that the curl projects over 

72 



Flanging 

the edge and is not crushed flat in the flanging. The 
block for the uncurled brim must be of greater cir- 
cumference than the brim of the hat, and will take any 
common size of brim, as the brim merely lies flat on 
the block and is not carried over the edge of the flange 

Flanging the Hats 

As stated before, all the work in flanging is done on 
the underbrim. After the hat is in place on the cor- 
rect flange, and the flange fitted to the iron pegs of 
the flange stand, place over it a piece of dry canton 
flannel, stretch the flannel tightly over the brim, care- 
fully smoothing out all wrinkles, then hold the edges 
of the cloth down by passing round them a piece of 
blocking cord, pulling the slipknot tight around the 
block as when blocking the crown. The cloth is then 
dampened with a sponge and the hat is ready for the 
application of the sand bag. 

The sand bag is already hot on the baker. Raise it 
up with the right hand by means of the rope and 
pulley, and with the left swing it toward you until 
it is directly over the flange stand and block on which 
the hat is securely fastened ; then lower the hot sand 
bag until its full weight rests on the underbrim of 
the hat. 

The bag should remain on the hat for fifteen min- 
utes, after which the bag is raised and is swung back 
to the baker in readiness for the next job. 

The blocking cord is now removed, and the cloth 
taken off. It will be found that the heat from the 
sand bag, combined with the moisture in the damp 
cloth, have brought up the stiffening and nicely set 
the shape of the brim. 

73 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

Special Brim Work 

If the hat is a raw edge, with a curlless brim, it is 
now finished except for the rounding of the brim. If 
it is a curled hat, the curl fitting over the edge of the 
block will need to be ironed with a hand iron before 
removing from the block. If the brim is to be bound 
it must go to the trimmer, after which the flanging 
operation must be repeated ; bound-edge hats being 
flanged both before and after trimming. 

Bodies for raw edge hats should be ordered }/$ inch 
wider than the required dimension. This ]/% inch is 
then "pared'' as it is called, either by hand with a pair 
of scissors or on a rounding" machine. 



74 



CHAPTER XIII 

Renovating Velours, Beavers and 
Napped Hats 

Shaping Soft Hat Styles 

IN the chapters on renovating and finishing soft hats 
it was stated that velour, beaver and napped hats 
required a different treatment than the ordinary 
smooth felt. This chapter will be devoted to the spe- 
cial treatment required by these hats, and will also give 
some pointers regarding the final shaping of the hats 
not included in the other chapters on soft hat work. 

After removing the old trimmings brush the hats 
thoroughly, first with the nap, then against the nap, 
until the dust is entirely removed. Soak the hats in 
gasoline for at least twenty-four hours. When they 
have been soaked long enough, and you are ready for 
the cleaning, heat a large basin of water — large enough 
for the gasoline can to stand in several inches of water 
— and when nearly boiling take it to your cleaning 
room and immerse your gasoline can in the hot water 
for five minutes or longer, until the gasoline is quite 
warm. You then commence the cleaning. 

Cleaning the Hats 

Pour one gallon of hot gasoline into your cleaning 
basin, and removing one hat at a time from the hot 
gasoline in the can, clean by thoroughly brushing with 
a scouring brush frequently dipped in the cleaning 
basin. Brush with the nap only, except in the band- 

75 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

mark, which, if very greasy, should be brushed vigor- 
ously to and fro until the grease stain disappears, after 
which it should be brushed hard, with the nap, with a 
penetrating brush, where the grease spot was. 

Quick work is needed in cleaning these hats, since 
it must all be done while the gasoline is warm. If you 
have quite a number of hats and the gasoline gets cold 
in spite of your best efforts, it will be necessary to re- 
peat the heating process. 

As you are through with each hat hang it where it 
can drip until you are through with the lot. When all 
are cleaned, remove them if possible where they can 
hang in the sunshine for twenty minutes. At the end 
of this time brush them vigorously again with the same 
dry scouring brush as used before, taking care to brush 
with the nap, and hang them in the sunshine until they 
are thoroughly dry. Velours and napped hats take 
longer to dry than pounced hats. When you are sure 
that they are absolutely dry, you may begin to block 
them. 

Stiffening 

Fully 95 per cent, of the velours and beavers that 
come to the renovator require no stiffening. Should it 
be necessary with some individual hat, gum tragacanth 
or shellac may be applied as described in the article on 
stiffening soft hats. 

Ironing 

Put the hat on the block, steaming and pulling it 
down until it fits the block perfectly, and with your 
finisher's sponge wet one-quarter of the hat, com- 
mencing with the side. Then stretch the nap with 

76 



Renovating Velours, Beavers and Napped Hats 

your penetrating brush, and iron that section of the 
hat until it is dry and thoroughly pressed. Repeat 
this process until sides, front and rear are ironed, 
being careful that all the sponging, stretching and 
ironing is done in one direction only — xvitli the nap. 
Finish the top of the crown last, using your sponge so 
that it spins a center in the top, wetting the whole tip 
in one operation. The same precaution should be ob- 
served in following up with the penetrating brush and 
the hot iron. The iron should also be observed to see 
that it is perfectly clean, without rust or other particles 
and not so hot that there is danger of scorching. 

Never use sandpaper, however fine, on these hats. 

After the* hat is ironed, squeeze out your finisher's 
sponge, touch it to the hot iron to create steam and rub 
it over the hat with the nap while still steaming. Then 
set the hat aside (still on the block) to dry. 

Before removing the hat from the block it must be 
given the rough, shaggy effect required in the scratch- 
up. This is done after it is quite dry by rubbing the 
dry penetrating brush over the surface — this time 
against the nap. 

The brim should be treated in the same manner, 
sponging and ironing with the nap, and when dry, 
scratching up by gently brushing against the nap, with 
the penetrating brush. Never brush hard, or press the 
brush too firmly against the hat. 

Shaping Soft Hat Styles 

A few words on the final shaping of the hat are 
appropriate here, although this work is not done in 
most cases until after the hat is trimmed and ready 
for delivery. It is mentioned here because there are 

77 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

some effects that need to be started when the hat is 
first put on the block. 

For instance, the cord effect that some hats have on 
the crown is attained by tacking a piece of blocking 
cord over the block from front to back, taking care to 
have the cord exactly in the center. The hat is pulled 
on the block over this and the cord mark remains after 
it is pressed. 

Fedora, Alpine, Big 4 and Columbia crowns are 




A PIECE OF BLOCKING CORD TACKED OVER THE BLOCK WILL MAKE A CORD 
MARK IN THE HAT 



creased by simply running the forefingers of the right 
and left hand from the center of the crown to the 
back and front, pressing the crown until the desired 
crease is reached. 

The telescope is made by pressing in the crown with 
your thumb and forefinger to the required height, 
measuring back, front and sides to be sure the tele- 
scope is an equal height all around, and then pushing 
the center of the crown up again, shaping it with the 

78 



Shaping Soft Hat Styles 




A PERFECT TELESCOPE 

CAN BE MADE WITH A 

WARM TOY IRON 



fingers. By laying the crown on a flat surface, after 
you have set the height with your fingers or with a 
warm toy iron, you can make a perfectly even tele- 
scope by pressing the inside of the crown. The various 
effects — diamond, tight, negligee, etc. — should be prac- 
tised on an old castaway hat that has been thoroughly 
blocked, and, if necessary, stiffened, before you at- 
tempt the work on your customers' hats. Of course, 
if you prefer you can put in a set of telescoping blocks 
or a telescope machine. 



HOW THE WORN COR- 
NER BECOMES AN EYE- 
LET IN THE RE- 
BLOCKED FEDORA 




It will sometimes be found that a fine felt fedora 
hat, otherwise in good condition, has worn through at 
back and front from constant creasing. It is an ex- 
cellent plan with such a hat to block it so that these 

79 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

holes come at the sides instead of front and back 
where they can be used for eyelets, which may be in- 
serted in them, giving you new corners for your crease. 
A little work on the block will be necessary with a hat 
so treated in order to lengthen it back and front. This 
can usually be accomplished by steaming and pulling 
the felt in the desired direction. 



CHAPTER XIV 



How to Conform a Hat 

BEFORE passing on to the more difficult processes 
of stiff hat work a chapter on conforming will be 
of value. To be able to do this work is indispensable 
to the satisfactory selling of hats, and a few pointers 
will be worth remembering by the finisher and reno- 
vator. 

Blocking gives the hat the original oval, so that 
any conformed hat left for repairs will have to be 
shaped again to fit its owner after it has been blocked. 
Again, the shaping of new hats that have been unsat- 
isfactorily fitted certainly comes under the jurisdiction 
of the hat repairer. Where the bench is located in the 
back of a retail store there will be a good deal of con- 
forming work to be done. Retailers themselves, when 
they have no renovating department in connection 
with their store, should be able to conform hats that 
require it, if they would give the full satisfaction that 
makes the truly successful sale. Nine-tenths of all 
sales made require no conforming. Those customers 
who do need their hats shaped, however, will fully ap- 
preciate the advantage of being carefully fitted, and 
you will be sure of their loyal patronage as well as 
that of the hard-to-fit among their acquaintances. The 
advertising value of the conformator is also consid- 
erable. 

The conformator consists of two separate parts, the 
conformator proper, and the formillion, or shaping 
block. The purpose of the former is to transfer to a 

81 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

piece of paper the exact outline of the head on which 
it is placed. This paper outline is then used as a pat- 
tern, by which the formillion is set so that it may in 
turn give the hat the shape of the head which has 
been recorded on the pattern. Besides the apparatus 
mentioned, the retailer, or renovator, should provide 




READY FOR THE CONFORM 



himself with a brim board and an iron foot-tolliker 
for smoothing the brim. 

The first step is the insertion of a piece of medium 
stiff paper — ordinary heavy Manila paper will do — on 
which the conform is to be marked. This is done by 

82 



How to Conform a Hat 

releasing the catch (B) with the finger until the frame 
springs forward. Place the paper against the cork, 
and replace frame and catch to their original posi- 
tions. Then the hinged top may be rested on the 
steel spring (F) until ready for use. 

To take the conform, the machine is pushed down 
on the head, keeping the center mark of the machine 
directly over the center of the forehead and directly 
in line with the nose. One mistake often made is the 
resting of the conformator on the head exactly as the 
hat is worn, whereas it should be pushed down one- 
quarter of an inch deeper than the hat is worn. If 
this is not done, the conformator will register one 
size smaller than the correct head size. 

This pushes the keys out in accordance with the va- 
riations in the circumference of the head and causes 
a corresponding movement of the pins (E). As one 
man can never place a hat on another in the same 
manner as he himself would wear it, it is as well to 
allow the wearer to assist you in adjusting the con- 
formator. Often an almost imperceptible touch which 
adjusts it to the right spot, known only to the wearer, 
will cause an altogether different form to be repro- 
duced on the paper. After you have an angle that 
suits the customer, however, be sure that the con- 
formator is pushed down lower than the hat is worn. 

When the machine is correctly set on the head, the 
lid (C) is dropped, and the keys (A-A) are pinched 
together. This presses downward the lid holding the 
paper, and the pins are driven through the paper, per- 
forating a reduced reproduction of the head shape. 

The conformator is then removed from the head, the 
top piece raised and the conform taken out. Then we 

83 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

come to another process — that of conforming the hat 
to the pattern on the paper. For this purpose the 
formillion comes into use. With a pair of scissors, 
trim off the unused margin of the paper, cutting 
around the outer edge of the perforated diagram, just 
as close as possible, without cutting through the per- 
forations, leaving a small paper form (W). This is 
placed, with the rough side of the pin marks, on the 
two upright pins (Z) in the formillion block. It is 
important that these pins be inserted in the center 
perforations already made by the conformator, even 
though these perforations appear to be off center. 
Many heads are larger on one side than the other, 
and unless the hat is so conformed, it will have a 
twisted appearance on the head. 




TAPER CONFORM ON THE FORMILION 



84 



How to Conform a Hat 

When this paper is firmly fixed on the block, the 
loosened keys (Y) are pushed up so that their inner 
ends just touch the edge of the paper. This commu- 
nicates to the outer ends of the keys the exact shape 
of the paper, enlarged to the proportions of the head 
from which it was taken. If the paper is too thin and 
flimsy it will curl and bend and make it difficult to 
get the exact shape. Therefore, stiff paper is recom- 
mended. When all the keys are in place, the thumb- 
screws may be tightened and the formillion taken from 
the block. 

It is now ready to be placed in the hat. But before 
this can be done the hat must be softened by heating 
so that it will not break when the formillion is forced 
into it. Never attempt to change the oval of a hat 
even in the slightest degree without first heating it. 

The gas stove used to heat and soften the hat has an 
iron plate over the burners to spread the heat so that 
it may strike every part of the brim. Over this about 
two inches above the burners are stretched two wires, 
and on these is a piece of asbestos on which the hat 
is placed brim down. To protect the crown, have a 
soft pad about 6x7y 2 inches and 3 inches deep to put 
in the hat, bringing it close to the edge of the leather. 
About half force of gas will produce a gentle diffusing 
heat so that the softening of the brim will be gradual. 
In a minute or two the brim will become easily pliable. 
Remove the pad and place the formillion in the hat. 
Put the hat on the brim board, brim down, and with 
the tolliker press firmly on the upper side of the brim 
close to the hat. 

Care must be taken not to disturb the set of the 
brim. Before heating measure the distance from the 

85 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

edge of the curl to the side of the crown. After the 
hat is conformed see that this measurement — %-inch, 
or one inch, or whatever it may be — remains exactly 
as before. 

The process of conforming a straw hat is the same 
except that a gas stove is not used to soften the brim. 
Moisten the brim slightly on top and bottom, then iron 
the brim on both sides on a flat bench with a hot iron 
and a damp cloth. Rub a little Ivory Soap on the 
cloth to prevent it from sticking to the hat. After 
the formillion is in the hat, iron the brim with a hot 
iron and a dry cloth, being careful to make the brim 
perfectly flat. Do not remove the formillion until the 
brim is thoroughly dry. 

By owning a brim press this process is greatly sim- 
plified. With this it is simply necessary to heat the 
hat for a moment on the plate, insert the straw hat 
formillion, place the hat with formillion on the plate, 
put down the lid, push in the slides which keep the 
brim flat, turn the handle to adjust the pressure, and 
remove the hat. 

Conforming a hat is done by some retailers who do 
not possess the ingenious conformator, though, of 
course, it is more trouble and usually less satisfactory. 
Place the pad in the heat, heat the brim until it is just 
soft enough to bend. Then with the shape to be at- 
tained in mind, lengthen or widen as required by pull- 
ing slightly. Place it on the head to fit it to the small 
irregularities while cooling, touching the side brim if 
it seems to be thrown out to any extent. When the 
hat is cool, heat the front and rear brim alternately 
and rub it smoothly with the tolliker on the curling 
board. 

86 



How to Conform a Hat 

The two precautions to remember are: Don't try to 
conform a hat without heating; Don't heat the brim 
until it melts. 



x 



>// 



\ r 



rH 



*\ 



il. 



X 



*' 



/i 



SOME HEADS THE HATTERS HAVE FITTED WITH THE CONFORMATOR 



87 



CHAPTER XV 



Cleaning Stiff Hats 

MY experience has been that over 50 per cent, of 
the stiff hats brought to the renovator to be 
cleaned are in good condition except for a grayish 
dusty appearance caused by the accumulation of dust 
and the effects of wearing them out in the rain. Not 
one man in a hundred knows how to brush or take 
care of his derby, and most hats in consequence lose 
their luster and take on a shabby appearance long 
before the felt is actually worn. 

Sponging and Luring 

If the derby is in good shape and simply requires a 
new finish, you can produce this by sponging and 
luring. You can conscientiously charge 50 cents for 
this operation, which takes about ten minutes, and is 
done as follows : 

Brush the crown with a soft finishing brush and the 
brim with a soft brim brush. Then dip your sponge 
in about a quart of water to which you have added 
about twelve drops of Aqua Ammonia, squeeze out 
the sponge, apply it to your hot iron, and sponge the 
hat, commencing with the upper brim and especially 
under the curl. Then sponge the crown, frequently 
applying the sponge to the iron. Always sponge with 
the nap, and endeavor to spin a perfect center in the 
crown. Finish with the underbrim and binding (if 
it is a black hat) and hang it up somewhere to dry, 
away from artificial heat. If the hat is any other 

88 



Cleaning Stiff Hats 

color than black, it is well to keep the sponge away 
from the band and binding. 

After the hat has thoroughly dried, brush it gently 
again, and polish it with your hot luring pad. An ex- 
cellent brim polishing pad or lure can be made from 
a piece of heavy black woolen cloth which has been 
loaded with cocoanut oil by means of the hot iron. 
x\lways heat your polisher before applying it to the 
hat, and always, particularly on a stiff hat, finish with 
the nap. 

Fancy colored hats can be treated in the same man- 
ner, though on these you must avoid wetting the band 
and binding when sponging. 

Treatment for Greasy Hats 

If the hat has been worn long enough to show 
grease spots, or the binding appears greasy or glossy 
from handling, a gasoline bath will be needed, in addi- 
tion to the sponging and luring. Immerse the hat, 
trimmings and all, in gasoline for one half hour, then 
brush with gasoline as described in the chapter on 
cleaning soft hats, except that derbies will not stand 
such vigorous brushing as may be used on soft hats. 
Pay particular attention to the band and binding. Af- 
ter the brushing, hang the hat up to dry, and then pro- 
ceed to polish it as described above. A charge of 75 
cents is a fair amount for this job, though this must de- 
pend upon your individual reputation and upon your 
locality. Prices to be charged cannot be intelligently 
given in a course of this kind and only averages can be 
quoted. For blocking, if needed, you might charge 
25 cents additional. If the binding be worn and the 
hat require a new one, another 25 cents may be 
charged. 

89 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

When badly faded hats are brought you for repairs, 
it is best to reject them. To dye stiff hats requires an 
outlay of time, experience and money quite beyond the 
resources of the small renovator. There are a few 
cold dyes on the market, ready prepared for use, but 
I have never found one that would produce entirely 
satisfactory results. 

A Twenty-five Cent Job 

When stiff hats are being worn extensively, you can 
develop quite a profitable trade by advertising that you 
restore the luster of stiff hats while the customer 
waits, your charge being 25 cents. This operation re- 
quires about 10 or 15 minutes, and is done by simply 
brushing the hat and then running your hot polishing 
pad over the crown, polishing the brim and sponging 
the binding — do not sponge the entire hat. The re- 
sult is a pleased customer and a new-looking hat. 

Cleaning Badly Soiled Stiff Hats 

Of all the stiff hats brought for repairs, not more 
than 20 per cent, will call for severe treatment. This 
20 per cent, will be made up largely of finer qualities, 
selling for $4 or more, and which the owners have 
worn perhaps two or three seasons, until the greasy 
perspiration marks show on the band mark and the 
silk trimmings are conspicuously glossy and greasy. 
Hats in this condition will require new band, binding 
and sweat-leather, and may need to have a new nap 
scratched up in places, in addition to the gasoline bath, 
as prescribed for the greasy soft hats. 

Rip the trimmings and remove the stitches, as was 
done with the soft hats to be cleaned. Soak the hats 

90 



Cleaning Stiff Hats 

overnight in gasoline, taking care not to crush or dent 
them in any way, either, by pressing other hats over 
them, or by any other form of carelessness. The 
fewer dents you have to deal with, and the less block- 
ing you have to give a stiff hat, the easier and better 
for you and the better for the hat. 

Next morning brush the hats vigorously in warm 
gasoline but with a softer brush than was used on 
the soft hats, so as to preserve the nap. 

If, after cleaning the hat, it should feel soft and 
"mushy," or if you should observe a bad dent where 
it has been crushed, mark a circle with white crayon 
around the dent or slight break indicating the spot that 
needs pressing. It is not necessary to stiffen a derby 
hat when it becomes soft. The steam and heat inci- 
dent to the blocking will serve to weld the particles of 
shellac into their original stiffness. Where a hat is 
broken or cracked completely through the felt, it 
nearly always indicates a poor article, and it is prob- 
ably useless to attempt to repair the break. 

Throw Out the Whisk Broom 

Stiff brushes are responsible for a great many 
ruined derbies. The family whisk brooms and the 
stiff brushes used by bootblacks and porters are as 
destructive as so much sandpaper to the nap of a good 
hat. Every hatter should maintain a vigorous cam- 
paign against the use of the whisk broom. Advise 
your customers against it and urge them not to per- 
mit the bootblacks or the porter in the barber shop to 
use the whisk broom on their hats. Many stiff hats 
brought to you for repairs would turn out like new 

91 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

if it were not for the spots and patches where the nap 
has been worn off by many brushings. 

Scratching a New Nap 

A hat thus worn can sometimes be improved by the 
following treatment : With a hard, dry sponge or with 
a woolen cloth or cotton hat pad, apply alcohol to the 
bare spot repeatedly for two or three minutes, to 
soften the shellac. Then rub for a few strokes with 
your stiff penetrating brush. Rub one way only, and 
do not rub too much. About ten strokes with your 
brush is sufficient. Repeat the process, applying the 
alcohol and giving a few brisk strokes with the brush. 
After the spot has dried, a good kid glove dye ap- 
plied with a small brush to the new nap will complete 
the job. 



92 



CHAPTER XVI 



Blocking Stiff Hats 

What Blocks Do You Need? 

IT is impossible for a hat shop to have a set of blocks 
for all the different styles that are constantly being 
put on the market; fortunately it is not necessary, as 
most of the work can be done quite satisfactorily — on 
one of two staples — the full, round crown or the oval 
crown. These I have found the two best all-round 
blocks for stiff hats on the market, and with a set of 
each you can perform all jobs that are brought you. 

The Cap or Duffer 

If the hat to be blocked is a size 7% and it fits 
loosely on a 7% block, a 7% block should be used. 
It is better to make it a shade larger and drum or 
draw the leather, than to steam it down and run the 
risk of making it too small. A still better method is 
to use a 7% block with a duffer steamed down over 
it. The duffer is a hat body which is pulled over the 
block and steamed down tightly to make the block a 
size larger. It is sometimes called a cap. A very 
serviceable duffer can be made from an old castaway 
soft hat, thoroughly cleaned and steamed down over 
a derby block. The blocking cord is then run down 
about an inch into the brim and the brim under the 
blocking cord cut away. The brimless crown remain- 
ing about six inches high is the duffer. This can be 
used for years, and can be steamed down over any 

93 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

size block to fill the vacancy between the hat and the 
block, when such exists. 

Putting the Derby on the Block 

The right block selected, and, if necessary, the duffer 
steamed down firmly on it, the hat should be put on the 
block. Do not attempt to pull the hat down while cold 
and dry. When the crown is partly in the block, re- 
move the lid of your oval steamer, in which the water 
should be at boiling point, and expose the crown of the 
hat to the steam. The brim being outside the steamer, 
remains cold and firm. Leave the crown in the steam 
for just four seconds. Then grasp the back of the 
brim with the fingers of both hands and with both 
thumbs press the block gradually deeper into the 
crown. Then press in the same way at the other end, 
holding the front of the brim. Repeat this operation 
two or three times, first back and then front, until the 
block is well into the crown. This must be done 
quickly, and should not require more than 15 seconds. 
If by that time the block is not all the way in, remove 
the block from the steamer, allow the hat to cool for 
a few seconds, and repeat the steaming again for the 
same length of time, pressing the hat as before, first 
front, then back, until the crown is firmly on the block 
and no wrinkles remain. 

Make it a point to heat or steam a stiff hat as little 
as possible. 

If the hat is one in which you have found a slight 
crack or break, a damp cloth should be immediately 
laid over the spot which you have previously marked 
with chalk and the spot pressed with an iron quite 
warm but not hot. After ironing over the break lightly 

94 



Blocking Stiff Hats 

for four or five seconds, run your heart tolliker over 
it. Finish by revolving the entire crown over your 
heater until the crown is quite hot, care being taken 
to avoid scorching or singeing. Then run your hot 
polishing pad or lure over the entire crown, pressing 
hard with the pad. Stand the hat aside for ten min- 
utes, and then remove the block — which may require 
some care, patience and strength. The slip stick 
should not be used, being advisable only on soft hats 
and Panamas. When the hat is off the block you will 
discover that the break has disappeared and the crown 
is as stiff and firm as when it left the factory. If you 
desire a full stiff result, place the hot sand bag for a 
few minutes on the crown while the steam is still in 
the hat, then steam again for a few seconds and run 
your lure over it. Cool it off thoroughly before re- 
moving from the block. 

Restoring the Band Mark 

During the steaming process, the band mark on a 
derby will sometimes lose its shape. To restore it, put 
your stiff hat band block in the crown and hold the 
brim over the heater. When it becomes pliable, quickly 
run your foot tolliker over it. This work should be 
done either on your stiff hat brim board or on the bot- 
tom board. While the brim is hot and pliable, you can 
give it the desired set, either flattening it or increasing 
the roll and pitch, and after the hat is trimmed it 
should be polished again, to give it a perfectly new 
appearance before the customer arrives. 

Dents Caused by Heat 
Frequently you will receive hats that show a slight 
95 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

dent in the crown, caused by being placed on a radi- 
ator, or, if it comes from one of your customers 
among the retail stores, caused perhaps by being ex- 
posed to the heat in a warm show case or a sunny 
window. In most cases these dents will not require 
blocking, but may be taken out either by holding the 
dented part over your heater or by placing the whole 
crown in your steamer for a few seconds until the 
dent becomes slightly pliable, and then removing it 
with the back of your fingers. Finish with the hot 
luring pad when cooled off. 

Some practice is necessary before you can become 
expert in the blocking of stiff hats. It is always best 
to try your skill on some old discarded hats before 
attempting the work on your customers' hats. When 
you get the knack you will also find it quite simple to 
change the style of stiff hats by shaping a full crown 
into a more tapering effect, and a tapering crown into 
a slightly fuller effect, when the customer so desires. 



96 



CHAPTER XVII 



Curling Stiff Hats 

THERE is no part of the renovator's work that 
requires more practice and skill than curling stiff 
hats. Before you try working on customers' hats you 
should acquire a certain amount of proficiency by 
practicing on some old castaway hats. By patient 
practice all the difficulties can be overcome. How- 
ever, as noted before, the beginner will not find a 
knowledge of stiff hat curling absolutely necessary to 
his success, although he will find soft hat curling an 
essential. 

If you expect to alter the brims and curls of derby 
hats, or to buy uncurled bodies and curl the brims 
yourself, it will be advisable to secure from one of the 
supply houses a curler's gas stove, a combination curl- 
ing shackle to get the different curls, a brass "groove" 



COMBINATION CURLING 
SHACKLE 




97 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 



FRONT AND REAR 
TOLLIKER 




tolliker for the side brim, a front and back tolliker 
and a curling plane. Continued practice will make 
you proficient in the use of all these tools. 

The combination shackle comprises a number of 
attachments that fit into one handle, the proper attach- 
ment being selected for each job. With it a round 
or D'Orsay curl and a variety of widths can be made. 
If desired, a separate shackle can be bought for each 
of these styles and widths. 

Rounding the Stiff Hat Brim 

If the hat is being finished from the rough it will 
first have to be rounded. The same rounding jack as 
is used for soft hat work can be used here, and the 
process is substantially the same. 

In using the rounding jack on a derby hat care 
should be taken to keep the front and rear of the 




GROOVE 
TOLLIKER 



98 



Curling Stiff Hats 




[ADE STRAP FOR REGULATING BRIM WIDTH 



brim narrower than the sides since much of the sides 
will be taken up in the curl. Brims on derby hats are 
always cut from one-quarter inch to one-half inch 
wider on the sides than in front and rear, and you 
must see that the rounding jack is regulated so this 
is done. It is here that the spring shown on the 
rounding jack illustrated in the soft hat chapter, comes 
into use. A turn of the little screws on the curved 
bar forces out the springs to any desired adjustment. 
The further the springs are pushed out the wider will 
be the hat brim at the sides. The reason is that on 
the long side-curve of the hat the jack travels along 
on the outermost points of the spring. As it nears the 
shorter curve of the end of the hat-oval, the hat 
gradually slips into the curve of the jack, thus bring- 
ing the knife closer to the crown. 

If the jack is not equipped with the spring, the same 
end may be accomplished by the use of a strap or 
pad which you can make yourself. Take two pieces 
of leather belting, % inch thick, and shave their thick- 
ness down so that they taper at the ends, leaving the 
original thickness in the middle. The two pieces are 
then joined together by lengths of elastic, which can 
be stretched to fit over any size crown (see illustra- 
tion). This is slipped over the crown, one piece of 

99 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

leather at each side, so that the thickest part of the 
leather comes exactly in the center of the side-crown. 
As the rounding jack slides around this, it is pushed 
out by the leather to the proper degree as it reaches 
the side, and the knife consequently cuts the brim 
that much wider. 

Curling 

Before curling the brim the edge should be mois- 
tened with your wet sponge — both upper and under 
brim, as in soft hat curling. This gives it flexibility 
and insures it against scorching. 

Then take your heated shackle, observing the same 
precautions as to cleanliness and degree of heat as 
in soft hat curling, and turn the moistened edge, slowly 
bringing it to the shape desired, and shrinking it thor- 
oughly by continually running the hot shackle over 
the curl. 

In curling stiff hats, curl the sides first. Then curl 
the rear with the small tolliker, which is grooved for 
the purpose, and finish with the front. If the result 
is somewhat uneven at the edges, smooth and round 
the curl evenly with the brass curling plane. 

After the curl is completed, if a D'Orsay or sharp 
curl is desired, flatten it out with the large ironing 
shell until it appears like a welt edge. Then open it 
up carefully. 

Setting the Brim 

After the brim is curled, the next operation is to 
set the brim. Until now the brim has been flat and 
without character. On the set-board you give the 
brim its final shape, with the correct roll and pitch. 

100 



Curling Stiff Hats 




SHAPING THE BRIM ON THE SET-BOARD 

This accomplishes the same thing for the stiff hat as 
flanging does for soft hats. 

The brim must first be softened and made pliable. 
This is done with heat, and the shape which it is then 
given will remain in it when it has cooled and hard- 
ened. 

Care must be taken, however, not to heat or soften 
the crown or bandmark. This is done by inserting 
a tightly fitting band-block in the crown, which pre- 
vents the heat from entering it. The hat is then set, 
brim down, on the baker, and left there just long 
enough to soften the brim until it is workable. A 
special gas stove is made for this purpose and its use 
will simplify the process. The hat rests on two 
asbestos-covered bars which keep it from contact with 
the hot stove, and a hole in the center keeps the crown 
cool so that no band-block is necessary. 

When the brim is soft enough to be worked, the 
hat is removed to the set-board. This board is so cut 
that any desired roll and pitch can be found on its 

101 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 
! 

surface. If a slight roll is needed on the brim it 
should rest on the board near the center, where the 
curve is slight. If a higher roll is wanted, press the 
brim against the upward flaring sides of the board. 
The front and back may be set in the same way. If 
a slight dip is needed, form it on the board near the 
center. If the hat is to have considerable pitch, it 
should be brought down near the outer edge of the 
board. All this is done while the brim is cooling so 
that quick work will be necessary to get all four sides 
into shape before it hardens and becomes fixed. 
While manipulating the brim on the set-board the 
brass foot tolliker should be run over it constantly. 

When the brim has cooled and set the hat is finished 
and is ready for the trimmer. 



102 



CHAPTER XVIII 



Finishing Rough Hats 

IN sections of the country where long winters are 
the rule there are often stretches of weeks, and 
even months, when little work is brought in. At such 
times the hatter who is equipped and able to finish 
hats from the rough can profitably take up the slack 
by making up new hats. 

Specialize on "Odd Sizes" 

These can be marketed in various ways. You can 
work up a nice little retail business of your own, 
specializing on "hats made to order." You can make 
up enough stock to sell to the local retailers, or you 
can advertise to these retailers that you are in a posi- 
tion to make up hats in odd and unusual sizes, such 
as are not found in the ordinary hat stock. To be 
prepared for this special work — which will gain you 
many regular customers — you should be well supplied 
with blocks in out-of-the-ordinary sizes — 6 J / 2 , 6$4, 
7% 7 5 A, 7y 4 , 7%, and 8. This will enable you to sell 
to men who have never been satisfactorily fitted in 
any other shop. 

Buying and Selecting Styles 

As early as November you should be able to size 
up with fair accuracy what styles and colors will be 
wanted for spring. There are many manufacturers 
who devote themselves entirely to producing bodies in 
the rough, in any stage desired — blocked and pressed, 

103 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




THE AUTOMATIC IRONING MACHINE 



blocked, pressed and pounced, and in the case of stiff 
hats, blocked, pressed, pounced and curled, ready to 
trim. Order a dozen assorted samples, select from 
these a few salable colors and two or three different 
grades, and reorder a few dozen each of the hats 
selected. These should keep you busy during January, 
February and March, slow months in your regular 
repair season. 

Special Equipment 

Practically the same process is required for finish- 
ing hats from the rough, as for reblocking and reno- 
vating used hats, though there are several additions 
to your equipment which you will need if going into 

104 



Finishing Rough Hats 

the business extensively. One is a baker and sand 
bag for flanging. Another is an automatic ironing 
machine for crown work, which it will be worth your 
while to buy if you expect to produce over three dozen 
hats a day. By its use an operator can turn out at 
least six dozen hats a day, and usually more. 

Give the hats substantially the same consideration 
as hats sent in for repair. Light weight and medium 
weight bodies will need to be "squared" or built up 
by stiffening with gum tragacanth, as already de- 
scribed. The body is then hung in the drying room 
or put on a rack to dry over night. When dry, it is 
blocked, as in renovating, the brim pulled out by hand 
and smoothed on the work-bench with the tolliker. 
It is then ready for ironing. 

Machine Ironing 

Hand-ironing on the work-bench has already been 
described in the chapters on renovating. Practically 
the same principles apply to machine ironing. 

All wooden blocks are made to fit the chucks on 
the ironing machine. Either gas or electric ironing 
shell may be used, depending on whether gas or elec- 
tricity is available in the shop. Before applying the 
shell to the hat the body should be dampened with a 
wet sponge while revolving on the machine. The 
effect is the same as that obtained by shrinking the 
body originally in hot water in the back-shop. 

It must be remembered that the tighter the felt the 
better the hat, and as every finishing operation has a 
tendency to open the felt, means should be taken to 
counteract this during the various processes. 

You will soon learn by experience the exact degree 
105 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

of heat required to produce the proper result. As in 
other operations it is well to practice ironing on some 
old castaway hats. Then if the hat is burnt there is 
no harm done and you will learn by experience to use 
a cooler iron next time. 

After you apply the heated shell to the band of the 
hat, the machine completes the process automatically, 
carrying the shell from the band to the center of the 
top crown and back to the band, at which point the 
shell automatically drops off the hat and the ironing 
is finished. For fine grade hats, however, and even 
to secure the best results in the cheaper grade, the 
ironing operation can be repeated two or three times 
to good advantage. 

The hat on the block is then taken from the machine 
and the brim ironed with the hand shell on the work- 
bench as in renovating. The hat is then singed, 
pounced, lured and passed through the smoke-bath, 
as described in the chapters on renovating. 

In large factories working on coarse hats, a lathe is 
used in pouncing, revolving the hat rapidly while the 
emery paper is applied with the palm of the hand. 
But in the small shop this will hardly be necessary, 
especially as only coarse hats can be pounced with the 
lathe, the finer grades requiring all hand work. 

The Drying Out Process 

After the last finishing process has been performed, 
a damp — not wet — sponge is applied to the crown only 
and the hat — still on the block — is set aside to dry. 

This provides a slow, natural drying-out process 
during which the felt again becomes tight and the 
surface clears up. Of course, while the body is thus 

106 



Finishing Rough Hats 

drying, you will be working on other hats, and at 
least six blocks will be necessary to keep you occupied. 
If it is impossible to secure enough blocks, the hat 
may be carefully removed from the block, and then, 
when thoroughly dried out, replaced on the block for 
rounding, as described in the chapters on stiff and 
soft hat curling. The brim is then curled and the hat 
is ready for flanging, which stiffens and fixes the set 
of the brim. 

Finishing Stiff Hats 

A few special precautions should be borne in mind 
with reference to stiff hat work. 

To finish stiff hats bought in the rough hood a 
hydraulic press is essential, which would require an 
unwarrantably heavy investment for the negligible 
amount of stiff hat work done in a small shop. It is 
therefore the best policy for the beginner to buy the 
hats, already pressed, finished and ready to curl. 

From this state to the finished hat the processes are 
practically the same as for soft hat work, with the 
following differences: 

1 — No stiffening or ironing are necessary, as the 
bodies are already stiffened and pressed. 

2 — At no stage should steam, water, or the wet 
cloth or sponge be applied to the pressed stiff hat. 
Wetting or steaming a stiff hat body will spoil the 
effect of the pressing. 

3 — In stiff hat work it is more necessary to find a 
block that exactly fits the hat. 

While finishing new bodies practically parallels the 
processes of renovating, it is advisable to get your ex- 
perience on renovating jobs before attempting the new 

107 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

hats. Unless you have become familiar by experience 
with the action of felt during the various stages of 
treatment, you may ruin a number of valuable hat 
bodies before developing the necessary skill and judg- 
ment. 



108 



CHAPTER XIX 



Trimming 

MOST hat shops have one or more trimmers — 
either girls naturally handy with the needle and 
easily adapted to the work after a few instructions, or 
women who have been employed at some time in hat 
factories and who have mastered the art at its source. 

There is no reason why the proprietor of a growing 
renovating shop should need ever to touch a needle. 
Nevertheless, to be a good judge of the work, to be 
able to estimate accurately and to know how to in- 
struct beginners who take employment in his shop, a 
knowledge of the practical side of trimming is a 
necessary part of his equipment. 

Good quality trimmings, neatly sewn on, will dress 
up any hat, while the most beautifully finished hat, 
carelessly trimmed, will fail to please your customers. 
So, while your own work may seem more important in 
your eyes than nice trimming, remember that this is 
one of the things by which the customer at first glance 
judges the worth of the job, and see that it equals the 
standard of the rest of the work. 

Here, again, it is well to practice on some old hats 
before experimenting with those left by customers. 
Observe how the trimmings on new hats are sewn on. 
Rip apart an old hat slowly and observantly, noting 
the way band, binding, leather bow, etc., are attached. 

It is useless to attempt to imitate those soft hats that 
come from the factory with the leather "whipped in" 
or sewn to the felt by machines, in fine stitches with- 

109 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

out the use of a reed. Order all your sweat bands with 
reed attached, whether you buy your sweats plain or 
with die embossed on them. Use a black reed for 
dark brown, green, blue or black hats, and a belly- 
nutria reed for lighter shades. On Panamas, use a 
y 2 inch or 24 mcn oil-silk or glaze reed. How the 
leather and reed are sewn in you can discover by taking 
apart an old hat and noting the method used. 

Sometimes it is necessary to "drum" a sweat band — 
that is, make it a size smaller. This is a frequent re- 
quest when you are doing work for retail stores which 
happen to be short on a particular size. Take the 




A SWEAT BAND 
DRUMMED TO RE- 
DUCE THE SIZE 



sweat band out of the hat, remove the sticker where 
it is joined together at the end and cut off Y% of an 
inch from each end of the sweat band. Then join 
together firmly with a new sticker, and when the 
sticker is dry proceed to sew the sweat band in the 
hat again, using shorter stitches than usual, and grad- 
ually stretching the reed so as to make the shortened 
leather reach around the same space of crown as it 
covered before it was cut down. When it is finished 
the upper part of the leather will be a smaller size and 
will fit comfortably snug on the head. On very thin 
leathers you can cut J / 2 inch from the end instead of 

110 



Trimming 

Y% of an inch. This process will save many a sale 
that would otherwise be lost. 

For sewing on bindings we have always found the 
Singer sewing machine most useful, first basting the 
binding on, either by hand or with the use of a basting 
attachment on the machine. 

At one time a renovator would often have a request 
to sew a black bombazine band on a derby, silk or soft 
hat to indicate that the wearer was in mourning. The 
adjustable mourning band, procurable from the supply 
house in all sizes and widths, has now done away with 
this. 

Trimming straw hats, Panamas and raw edge soft 
hats is comparatively simple work, but to become skil- 
ful in sewing on stiff hats and bound soft hats, will 
require faithful practice on the part of yourself or the 
person you have delegated to do the work. Good 
trimmings are well worth the effort it takes, however, 
and you will greatly improve the appearance of your 
work and be sure of pleasing the most fastidious, if 
you will see that only the best quality trimmings are 
used on your hats, and that they are sewn in carefully 
with neat, short stitches, as completely concealed from 
sight as possible. 



Ill 



CHAPTER XX 



Cleaning Straws and Body Hats 

TIME was when the man who wished to have his 
straw or Panama hat cleaned or renovated ex- 
pected to leave the hat with the hatter for two or three 
days and to pay 75 cents to $1.00 for the work. The 
"Cleaned While You Wait'' sign was not then to be 
encountered in every other block, and hats were better 
treated, and the hatter a more respected person. Since 
the bootblack hatter has come into prominence, with 
his slip-shod methods and showy but ruinous proc- 
esses of cleaning and bleaching, the public's idea of 
what hat work ought to cost and how it should be 
done, has been somewhat distorted. The renovator 
may, if he wishes, copy the cheap, rapid, but alto- 
gether inefficient methods of the hatting bootblack ; 
but I have found that good work is appreciated, and 
that a hatter who can turn out a thorough, lasting job, 
and make his customer see why good work is really 
more economical than cheap work, can ask his own 
price, irrespective of cheap competition. Every season 
sees more eyes opened to the worthlessness of the 
bootblack hatter's work, and I cannot repeat too em- 
phatically that the only way to give lasting satisfaction 
and build up a reliable, substantial trade is to do de- 
pendable work at a fair price. 

Bleaching the Most Satisfactory Process 

Straw hats and Panamas that are brought you can 
be either cleaned or bleached, but the average wearer 

112 



Cleaning Straws and Body Hats 

knows nothing of the two terms, and merely asks to 
have his hat ''cleaned." It is up to you to decide 
whether the hat needs bleaching or merely cleaning 
and to explain to the customer the advantage of the 
bleaching in case it is found necessary. 

I much prefer to bleach every hat that is brought to 
the shop. Only by this process can a thoroughly satis- 
factory job be turned out without danger to the fiber 
or braid of the hat. Only when the customer will not 
pay the price for bleaching, or when he must have 
the hat back quickly, is the shorter process of acid 
cleaning to be recommended. There are occasions, 
too, such as the period before Easter, when you have 
more work than you can turn out, when it is advisable 
to select all the easy jobs and put them through the 
short process of cleaning, thereby giving you more 
time for the hats requiring greater care and attention. 

The Wrong Way to Use Oxalic Acid 

For cleaning slightly soiled straw hats, where the 
bleaching process is not desired, oxalic acid gives the 
quickest and best results, but the secret lies in know- 
ing how to use it. The bootblack hatter also uses 
oxalic, but in order to get immediate action for his 
"while you wait" trade he necessarily uses a powerful 
solution. Also, he is not able to wash off the acid in 
water, since hats after being rinsed must be blocked 
and flanged, and he has neither the outfit or the 
knowledge for such work. Consequently, after he has 
scrubbed the hat with his powerful acid solution he 
merely runs a wet sponge over it to take off the surface 
acid, puts it on his motor and in ten minutes the cus- 
tomer walks away with a hat cleaned in appearance, 

113 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

but full of acid and certain to become discolored in 
a very short time. 

The Right Way to Use Oxalic Acid 

For a quick cleaning with oxalic acid without harm- 
ing the braid of the hat, proceed as follows : 

Heat two quarts of water in an enamel or ironware 
basin, and when almost at the boiling point add: one 
half teaspoonful of oxalic acid, one-fourth teaspoonful 
of Sal Acetosella and one-fourth teaspoonful of 
lumped sugar of lead. Stir this solution and allow it 
to become sufficiently cool to work in. 

Then remove the band and the sweat band of the 
hat, as well as all loose threads. To assist you in 
blocking and trimming later on, be careful to mark 
with a lead-pencil on the inside of the crown the 
place where the sweat band comes together in the 
back of the hat. 

First brush the hat thoroughly with a dry brush to 
remove the dust and then vigorously with a brush 
dipped in the solution. On Panamas, Leghorns, 
Bangkoks and Manilas the brushing should be gentle, 
with a brush not too stiff; but on split braids, China, 
Belgium and Swiss yachts and stiff and soft Milans, 
a stiffer brush, preferably a short, stiff bristle, may 
be used and you must rub vigorously to and fro. 

Do not use the solution too freely, as the less wash- 
ing to be done the less work there will be to shape and 
polish the hat afterwards. Brush with long strokes, 
and make a brushful of the solution go as far as pos- 
sible, giving the hat a minimum of moisture. 

Brush first on the top of the hat, then the sides, then 
the underbrim and finally the upperbrim. Then imme- 

114 



Cleaning Straws and Body Hats 

diately hold it under the hydrant or dip it in a tub of 
clean water to remove the chemicals. This should only 
be for a second, after which let the water drip for a 
minute and mop off the remaining moisture with an 
almost dry sponge. Then hang up the hat, if possible 
in the sunshine, until it is nearly but not quite dry, as 
it is easier to press if not thoroughly dried. Put on 
the block and press under a cloth with an iron not 
too hot. When the hat is pressed and dry, polish 
vigorously with a clean towel or a handful of tissue 
paper. 

General Remarks 

Stiff brim straw hats are often conformed to the 
wearer's head when they are bought, and this shape 
or conformation must be preserved when the hat is 
brought to you to be renovated. In these cases, water 




A CONFORMED STIFF STRAW 

HAT MUST NOT BE IRONED 

ON THE BLOCK 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

should be used sparingly, and in ironing the brim the 
band block should not be used, since this would press 
the shape back to the regular oval. 

It should be said here that the oxalic acid solution 
may be used repeatedly, only requiring to be slightly 
warmed each time before using. 

For this work the charge should be about 50 cents 
on a straw and $1.00 on a Panama hat, and the cus- 
tomer should be made to understand that this price 
includes pressing and that a proper job cannot be 
turned out without this work, as the chemical must be 
washed out of the hat, the washing process necessarily 
resulting in a slight warping of the crown and brim, 
necessitating reblocking. 

As stated, this process does not give the best results 
possible, and the customer should be urged when cir- 
cumstances permit to have the hat bleached by means 
of sulphur fumes. This work will be described in the 
next chapter. 

A Quick Bleach Without Sulphur Fumes 

For a quick bleach without the use of sulphur fumes, 
on Bangkoks, Milans and split braids, the following is 
very effective. 

Mix five pints of cold water with two pints of Ben- 
talin. Then dissolve three ounces Bioxolate Potash in 
one pint boiling water and add this to the other solu- 
tion. 

Wash the hats in this solution, and rinse them thor- 
oughly in warm water. 

Then dissolve y 2 ounce of permanganate of potash 
in a quart of warm water, and after allowing this solu- 
tion to cool, sponge the hats with it until they are the 

116 



Cleaning Straws and Body Hats 

color of a walnut. Then, without rinsing, dip them 
repeatedly in the Bentalin solution, or, in the case of 
stiff yachts, apply the Bentalin with a sponge, until 
the brown color disappears. 

When the hats have the desired color, rinse them in 
warm water and dry them in the sunshine. 

Take care to keep the solutions apart, as a little 
Bentalin, from your sponge or in any other way, will 
ruin your permanganate solution. 



117 



CHAPTER XXI 



Bleaching Straw Hats and Body Hats 

TO get the best results on straw and body hats 
(Panamas not included), the bleaching process 
described in this article is necessary. 

In bleaching such hats as fancy splits, Chinas, Bel- 
giums, and Swiss braids, and soft and stiff brim 
Milans, Mackinaws, Manilas, Leghorns and Bang- 
koks, it is first necessary to take off all the trimmings, 
as was done in cleaning felts, and remove all grease 
spots by brushing with hot gasoline and drying thor- 
oughly. 

Then heat one gallon of water almost to boiling 
point, add one tablespoonful of sal soda, and when the 
solution is lukewarm, scour the hats with it, using a 
stiff short-haired brush for the coarse braids and a 
somewhat softer brush for the fine body hats. The 
scouring will remove the dirt and leave the hats clean, 
but with a yellow appearance. 

Avoid useless scouring and do not use any more of 
the solution or of the rinsing water than is necessary, 
as it should be an object to preserve the original shape 
of the hat as much as possible. The dirt is nearly 
always on the surface only, and can be removed with 
very little scrubbing. 

After scouring, rinse the hats quickly in clear water, 
mop off the surplus moisture with sponge or towel and 
hang up to drip for half an hour. When they are half 
dry, they will be ready for the bleaching box. 

118 



Bleaching Straw Hats and Body Hats 

The Sulphur Box 

This should measure about six feet high and four 
to six feet wide, and should contain shelving or lathes 
so arranged that you can place 20 or 30 hats in the box 
at one time without putting one on top of the other. 
The bottom shelf should be at least 35 inches from the 
floor, to prevent the box from being set on fire by the 
flames from the sulphur pan. As an additional pre- 
caution tack a thick piece of asbestos paper on the 
under side of the bottom shelf, and line the sides of 
the box, as far up as this shelf, with the same kind 
of paper. The floor of the box should be covered with 
asbestos or strewn with a layer of sand or soil about 
one inch deep, and in the center several bricks should 
be arranged on which to rest the sulphur pan or pot. 
The box should be made as near airtight as possible, 
by careful papering on the inside. If possible, do your 
bleaching in a shed outside your shop, or better still, 
if your shop contains a built-in closet, convert that 
into a bleach-box. 

If you do your bleaching inside the shop, it is better 
to light your sulphur just before closing time, so any 
escaping fumes may be cleared away by morning. 
First see that the hats are arranged where their entire 
surface is exposed to the fumes and where they do not 
come in contact with nails or other metallic substances. 
Then heat an iron frying pan or pot on your stove 
until it is almost red hot, put a small stick of brim- 
stone or stick sulphur in the pan — a piece about two 
inches long will be enough — and put the pan in the 
sulphur box, resting it on the bricks arranged for it 
on the sanded floor. The pan should be hot enough 

119 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 




FRONT VIEW OF THE BLEACH BOX 



120 



Bleaching Straw Hats and Body Hats 

to quickly ignite the sulphur, and you must close it 
up in the airtight box immediately, to avoid inhaling 
the fumes. 

Next morning, open the door of your box and allow 
the remaining fumes to clear away; then remove the 
hats, and, if possible, place them in the sunshine for 
several hours. If any of the hats require stiffening, 
attend to this next. 

Stiffening the Hats 

There is a variety of stiffening agents. Some use 
gelatine, others white glue, others bleached shellac. I 
have found I get good results from any of the French 
glues imported into this country. I also use a domestic 
glue with excellent results. Soak three or four pieces 
over night in a gallon of water in an enamel vessel. 
When soft, heat and stir until dissolved, adding to the 
mixture, while boiling, a small pinch of sugar of lead 
and three pinches of salts of sorrel. This is for the 
purpose of bleaching the glue. 

Glue should be warm when applied, not hot. Some 
hats need more stiffening than others, and it is there- 
fore well to apply the glue with a sponge, regulating 
the application according to the requirements of each 
hat. Both the upper and under brim are stiffened. On 
hats that are very flimsy, apply all the glue the fiber 
will hold. On hats that do not need much stiffening, 
apply it lightly. In either case, after the hat is glued, 
squeeze out the sponge and mop off the surplus glue. 
Then stand the hat on its brim — never hang it up — 
and when half dry it is ready to be placed in the sul- 
phur box for a second fumigation. 



121 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

Toning Solution for Unstiffened Hats 

The hats that do not need stiffening must be fumi- 
gated a second time, together with the stiffened hats. 
It will be beneficial, however, to treat them with a 
toning solution before putting them in the sulphur 
smoke. 

In a quart of hot water dissolve a pinch of sugar of 
lead, a pinch of sal acetosella (or bioxalate of potash) 
and two pinches of oxalic acid. Sponge the hats with 
this solution, and in ten or fifteen minutes repeat with 
cold water. 

When these are half dry, they and the hats pre- 
viously glued are put into the bleach box, the sulphur 
lighted, and the bleaching process repeated as on the 
previous night. 

The Final Touches 

Next morning the hats will be sufficiently moist to 
put on the blocks. Do not allow them to dry before 
blocking and pressing. It is best to get the entire lot 
on the blocks before you start ironing any of them. 

After ironing, place them in the sunshine for two 
or three hours, when they will be ready for the trim- 
mer. 

Although somewhat tedious, this process gives the 
best results, and can be used on all hats except Pana- 
mas. These require a somewhat different treatment, 
which will be explained in the next chapter. 



122 



CHAPTER XXII 

Bleaching and Stiffening Panama Hats 

ONE of the most fascinating and remunerative, 
yet least understood branches of hat renovating, 
is the bleaching of Panamas. Thousands upon thou- 
sands of Panamas are bleached every year by hat 
workers of all kinds, but of these only a very small 
proportion are bleached right, and by a process that 
does not shorten their life. A really fine hat should 
give its wearer three or four seasons' use. Oxalic 
acid baths and most of the prepared "bleaches" will 
burn up the fiber in a very short time, making it crack 
easily in handling. The finer the braid, the shorter 
the life of the hat after it has once been cleaned by 
an ignorant worker with the use of acids. The "boot- 
black hatter" is not the only enemy of the Panama. 
The average "fur hatter" also, who opens up a gen- 
eral repair shop, knows very little of the art of 
Panama bleaching, and this class of hat renovators 
ruin many good Panamas by reason of their ignorance, 
despite their good intentions. 

The following process is the best that can be used 
on Panamas, and is familiar to very few of the hat 
renovators throughout the country. 

Assort the lot of Panamas to be bleached, selecting 
those with perspiration stains in the brim or crown, 
to be soaked overnight in gasoline, as was done with 
the greasy felt hats. Next morning, give all the hats 
a scrubbing with warm gasoline, paying particular at- 
tention to the stained portions of the greasy hats. 

123 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

After cleaning, allow the hats to become thoroughly 
dry, either in the sunshine or by the slower heat of a 
warm room. 

When the hats are dry, wash them lightly, in a 
basin of warm water, in which one tablespoonful of 
sal soda is dissolved. Do not brush hard, as gentle 
brushing will remove the dirt. Use a medium stiff 
brush — too stiff a brush or too vigorous brushing will 
destroy the enamel. Then rinse the hat in clear water 
from the hydrant, or run it through a tub of water to 
wash off the soda and dirt. 

When the hats are half dry put them in your bleach 
box and burn the sulphur as described in the chapter 
on straw hat bleaching. 

Next morning remove them from the bleach box 
and expose them to the sunshine for several hours. 

The hats must now be run through a toning and 
fixing solution mixed as follows : one-fourth teaspoon- 
ful of Sal Acetosella (or bioxalate of potash), one- 
fourth teaspoonful of sugar of lead and one-half tea- 
spoonful of oxalic acid, dissolved in one gallon of 
warm water. Immerse each hat in this solution for 
about one minute, scrubbing only the stained parts 
showing perspiration marks, dye from the ribbon or 
tannic acid stains from the sweat band, separately 
and vigorously with a nail brush dipped repeatedly 
in the solution. When they are cleaned, rinse them 
thoroughly in clear, cold water to remove the surplus 
-y<'*<\ from the hats. Then set them aside to dry. 
M^r which vou may proceed to stiffen them. 



124 



Bleaching and Stiffening Panama Hats 

Assorting the Hats for Stiffening 

Some will need no stiffening, others just a trifle, 
and some (particularly Toyos and Japs) will be limp 
as a rag, and will need to be well stiffened. In stiffen- 
ing both Panamas and Milans that are brought for 
renovation your good judgment must be constantly 
exercised. Scarcely two hats require the same amount 
of stiffening. When stiffening new hats or rather 
body hats, it is an easy matter to give all the same 
amount of stiffening and thus turn out all hats uni- 
form. With worn hats, brought to be renovated, it 
is a different story. Rain and constant handling has 
left them with different degrees of flexibility ; some 
have been washed with soapsuds or other agents that 
completely destroy the sizing, and constant care and 
judgment is necessary to turn out all jobs of an even 
quality of stiffness, or varied in accordance with the 
special wishes of the customer. 

If the hat is stiff enough for the customer's taste, 
it should not be further stiffened. If it is too stiff 
when brought to your place, it should be soaked for 
five minutes in the sal-soda wash described at the 
beginnning of this article. Scrub it with a medium 
soft brush to wash out the stiffening and thoroughly 
rinse it. 

Preparing the Glue 

Buy a two-gallon enamel vessel and soak over night 
three pieces of the finest French glue, or the best 
quality domestic glue, in one and a half gallons of 
water. This glue comes in pieces of uniform size. 
Next morning heat it on the stove and dissolve the 
glue by repeated stirring until it reaches the boiling 

125 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 



point. Then bleach or whiten the glue by adding one 
teaspoonful of salts of sorrel and one-half teaspoon- 
ful of sugar of lead, stirring this well into the mix- 
ture. The glue will then be ready for use. 

Stiffening the Hats 

Pour the glue, while boiling hot, into an enamel 
wash basin on your scouring bench. Immerse the 
softest hat of the lot into the hot glue, covering the 
whole hat. In about ten seconds remove it from the 
glue and hang it on a peg where it can drip into the 
glue basin. Those requiring less stiffening may be 
left in the glue for a few seconds only, or merely run 
through the stiffening and immediately hung up. On 
hats requiring only a minimum of stiffening, apply 
the glue lightly with a sponge. 

After each hat has ceased to drip, place it on the 
floor where some clean papers have been spread. The 
* A 




AFTER HAT HAS DRIPPED FOR ONE 

MINUTE, REVERSE IT, B ON TOP AND 

A ON THE BOTTOM, TO EQUALIZE 

STIFFNESS 



Bleaching and Stiffening Panama Hats 

brim should be turned down as shown in the cut so 
that the remaining liquid will drain to the edge of the 
brim, which should be the stiflest part of the hat. 

As the stiffening starts to dry as soon as the hats 
are taken out of the bath, the hats must be carefully 
watched from the moment you hang them up until 
you lay them out to cool and stiffen. After one 
minute's dripping, every hat should be reversed, B on 
top and A on the bottom, allowing the glue to drip 
back to A for two or three minutes. An important 
feature is to have the stiffening uniform on all sides. 




WITH BRIM DOWN, THE STIFFNESS INCREASES AT THE EDGE 

If some of the Toyos and Japs are not stiff enough, 
go over them with a sponge dipped in warm glue. 

If some of the hats prove to be too stiff you can 
wash out the superfluous stiffening with warm water. 

After all the hats have been stiffened and have 
cooled off for about half an hour, but are still damp 
and moist, place them in your sulphur box for a sec- 
ond fumigation. Next morning when you remove 
them from the box they will be ready for blocking. 

127 



CHAPTER XXIII 



Blocking Panama Hats 

AFTER stiffening the hats and leaving them in the 
bleach box over night for the second fumigation, 
the next process will be blocking. 

A Panama should never, under any circumstances, 
be blocked dry. Generally your hats will remain moist 
over night, so that when you remove them from the 
bleach box they will be in just the right condition for 
blocking. If any should be dry, pass a wet sponge 
over them before blocking or ironing. 

Sometimes, after bleaching all night, a hat will be 
discovered to be too stiff. A gentle scrubbing with 
hot water will wash out the surplus stiffening. 

Any that are too soft can be made stiff er by apply- 
ing another coating of glue with a sponge. 

Putting the Hat on the Block 

Before slipping the hat over the block, see that the 
lead pencil mark on the inside of the crown, showing 
where the ends of the leather were joined and put on 
the hat when the trimmings were ripped, is directly 
over the center mark on your block. This assures 
that the hat will have the correct, original oval when 
finished. 

Pull the hat down over the proper block, and then 
place the block, crown down, in your oval steamer — 
the same as used for blocking soft and stiff hats. In 
a few moments take the hat out of the steamer and 

128 



Blocking Panama Hats 



pull it down tightly on the block, working over 
the crown with the palm of your hand until all wrin- 
kles disappear. 

It is nearly always necessary to steam a Panama 
two or three times before it fits firmly on the block. 




HOW TO SEE IF THE PANAMA IS EVENLY ON THE BLOCK 



While this is being done the hat should be constantly 
observed to see that it does not shrink more on one 
side than the other, and acquire a lopsided effect. The 
best way to measure this is to first measure the brim 
to see that both sides are even, and then to press the 
sides of the brim down flat against the block. Any 
unevenness that exists will then be apparent in the 
space between the bottom of the block and the edge 
of the brim. Front and back should be measured in 
the same way. 

Ironing 
Panamas should be pressed or ironed in the same 
way as soft hats. The fiber will burn easily under a 
hot iron, and care should be taken that the iron is 

129 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

cooled sufficiently to do the work without scorching. 
The temperature can be quickly reduced by dipping 
the iron in the water in your bench tub or basin. 
Always iron the hat under a cloth which you have 
dampened with a sponge. 

To press a cord-mark or ridge over the crown of a 
hat, tack a piece of blocking cord over the block, tack- 
ing it front and back and being very careful to get it 
exactly in the middle. Shrink the hat down over this 
and the ridge will stay after it is off the block. 

After the crown is blocked and ironed, polish it by 
rubbing with cheesecloth or tissue paper. Then slip 
the hat off the block, insert the proper band block and 
flange the hat as you do your soft hats, ironing on 
the underbrim only. 

Sometimes, after bleaching and blocking, the hats 
will not appear white enough to suit your taste. You 
can improve the color considerably by filling a small 
cheesecloth sack (about 4x6 inches) with lac sulphur 
and rubbing it over the hat, so that the powder sifts 
through, afterward rubbing with a coarse, clean towel 
and brushing briskly with a dry nail-brush or scouring 
brush that is not too stiff. 



130 



CHAPTER XXIV 



Other Bleaching Methods 

FOR those who find the foregoing system of Pan- 
ama bleaching (described in the preceding chap- 
ters) too tedious or difficult, the following process 
may be welcome. While not so permanent in its re- 
sults as the process just described, it is almost as 
effective, and may be quite as satisfactory to those 
who are not very particular. 

The Acid Solution 

Prepare the hats as you did for the other process, 
scrubbing them to remove perspiration stains, etc. 
When thoroughly dry, boil one gallon of water in your 
basin; then add one teaspoonful of oxalic acid, one- 
half teaspoonful of sugar of lead, and one-half tea- 
spoonful of bioxalate of potash, also called sal aceto- 
sella. Stir and let the solution cool off for a minute. 

Then, using your scouring brush, scrub the hats 
with the solution. As soon as they appear thoroughly 
clean, immerse them in a tub of clean water and rinse 
thoroughly, until every trace of acid is removed. 

Rinsing is very important in this process, because 
unless you give the hat plenty of water, a portion of 
the oxalic acid will remain in the hat, and in a few 
hours* time it will be fairly started on the road to 
destruction, becoming more brittle day by day until a 
crack appears, usually in the brim, and the hat is 
ruined beyond reparation. In the "hat repairing 
shops" where cheapness is the sole object, the acid is 

131 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

usually sponged off lightly, or not at all, and the cus- 
tomer, who thinks he has effected an economy, finds, 
when the brim cracks in his hand a few days later, 
that he has really thrown away both hat and money. 
The responsible renovator owes it to himself and to 
the trade to educate his customers to the worthless- 
ness of the "cheap" work turned out by the "boot- 
black hatters," and to the importance of taking good 
hats to a real hatter and paying him a fair price for 
the time, knowledge and materials necessary for clean- 
ing the hats without taking the life out of them. 

After brushing the dirt from the hats with the solu- 
tion given above, and thoroughly rinsing them, hang 
or place them in the sunshine for a time — half an 
hour, if possible. When they are half dry, stiffen 
them as described in the other process, and bleach 
them in your sulphur box over night. The next morn- 
ing block and finish them. As stated, this process is 
not quite as permanent as the one previously de- 
scribed, but, on the other hand, it is considerably 
quicker, the hats entering the bleach box only once, 
whereas the other process requires the hats to be ex- 
posed to the sulphur fumes on two separate nights. 

Bleaching Without Sulphur Fumes 

Should you desire a shorter and more simple 
method, and one which does not call for the use of a 
bleach box, the following will turn out a very accept- 
able job. I give this process because some shops are 
so arranged as to make the installation of a bleach box 
impracticable and because other conditions sometimes 
make it necessary to get along for a time without this 
aid. 

132 



Other Bleaching Methods 

Separate the hats to be cleaned into three lots: 1 — 
those having greasy perspiration stains around the 
band-mark; 2 — those showing slight grease or oil 
marks; 3 — those simply soiled and showing no grease 
spots. 

Soak lot No. 1 in gasoline over night. Next day 
brush them vigorously with gasoline while still wet, 
never allowing them to dry from the time you place 
them in the gasoline until you are through scouring. 
When these are completed, start to clean lot No. 2, 
scrubbing them with gasoline to remove perspiration 
marks and grease spots. 

The difference between lots No. 1 and No. 2 is that 
the hats are less greasy and not so deeply stained and 
do not need the all-night soaking in gasoline to remove 
the grease. 

When lots No. 1 and No. 2 are thoroughly cleaned 
the last of the greasy hats will have been disposed of, 
and these, as well as lot No. 3, will need to be washed 
in the oxalic solution before stiffening and blocking. 

First hang up to dry the hats that you have washed 
in gasoline. When thoroughly dry begin your scouring 
with the solution of oxalic acid, bioxalate of potash 
and sugar of lead previously described, being careful 
not to scrub harder than is absolutely necessary to re- 
move the dirt, as there is danger of scrubbing off the 
enamel or coat of the fiber. 

Always start this washing with lot No. 1, following 
in order with No. 2 and No. 3. The hats that are in 
worst condition should be washed first. 

The precautions given before to rinse thoroughly, in 
clear water to remove the injurious acid, must be ob- 
served in this process also. 

133 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

After rinsing expose the hats to the sun for about 
half an hour, and when they are nearly dry stiffen 
those that require it, after which, while they are still 
moist, steam them over the blocks and iron them as 
already described. 

After the hats are blocked and ironed a special 
liquid bleach must be applied. 

Take two teacupfuls of lac sulphur and the same 
amount of flowers of sulphur and mix the two to- 
gether thoroughly in a large china vessel with both 
hands, crushing and pulverizing the lac sulphur be- 
tween your fingers until no more lumps appear. 

Add water to this mixture a little at a time, con- 
tinuing to knead and crush the two sulphurs until both 
are thoroughly mixed and you have a liquid of the 
consistency of molasses. Mix with your bare hands, 
making sure that they are thoroughly clean before 
you begin. 

With the quantity of sulphur given above, you 
should have enough bleach for about fifty hats. Ap- 
ply this with a sponge or a short-haired stencil brush 
after the hat is ironed, briskly rubbing it to and fro 
over the crown. Use as little as possible, afterward 
following up the brush with a sponge dipped in water 
and squeezed nearly dry, so as to spread the bleach 
thinly and evenly over the surface. 

Any hats requiring to be creased into fedora or 
telescope shapes should now be removed from the 
blocks and shaped with the fingers while they are still 
moist. Then set all the hats aside to dry — in the sun- 
shine if possible. 

When the bleach is dry on the crown, iron the brim 
under a damp cloth and press a sharp band-mark into 

134 



Other Bleaching Methods 

the hat where the brim joins the crown. Then apply 
the sulphur wash to the underbrim as you did to the 
crown, allow it to dry, apply the wash to the upper 
brim, and set the hat out in the sunshine until thor- 
oughly dry all over. If the hats are too white from 
putting the paste on too thick, go over them briskly 
with a clean, moist sponge, washing off some of the 
paste, and place in the sunshine again to dry. 

Next the dry powder must be brushed off. Do this 
with a perfectly dry scouring brush, creating as much 
friction as possible and producing a gloss over the en- 
tire hat. Finish by rubbing with a clean, dry Turkish 
bath towel, kept purposely for this work. 

This process gives the beautiful creamy white fin- 
ish so desirable on the genuine South American Pana- 
mas. On the pure white hats, known as Japanese 
Panamas, frequently worn by women and sold in de- 
partment stores and millinery shops, another lot of 
paste, mixed in a separate china vessel, should be used. 
This bleach should be the same as that just described, 
except that the flowers of sulphur are omitted, only 
lac sulphur being used to make the paste. 

These two formulas are apparently quite simple, but 
until you become expert in their use a great deal of 
patient experimenting will be necessary before you can 
turn out the best possible results. You must contin- 
ually use your good judgment as to how little of the 
paste to use on your brush, how hard to rub it on the 
hat, how to spread it, and mop up the surplus bleach 
with the nearly dry sponge, and how to keep it at its 
proper syrup-like consistency. 

When you have become sufficiently skillful in the 
mixture and application of this formula, you may 

135 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

progress to a more complicated, but without doubt the 
most wonderful and harmless liquid bleach ever used 
on a Panama hat. In fact, I use it on all the Panamas 
I bleach even after I have exposed them to the sul- 
phur fumigation. 

The Best Liquid Panama Bleach 

Soak two tablespoonfuls of gum tragacanth for at 
least three days in a quart of water. Then dissolve it 
by heating gradually to the boiling point, stirring un- 
til there are no more lumps and the whole takes the 
consistency of thin mucilage. Then set the mixture 
aside to cool. When cold, add about a pint of lac 
sulphur, crushing it with your hands until all lumps 
are dissolved. Then put on your heater a half pint 
of water in which a tablespoonful of white glue has 
been soaked over night. While it is heating, keep 
stirring until the boiling point is reached. Then let it 
cool for fifteen minutes, after which it is added to the 
already prepared solution of gum tragacanth and lac 
sulphur. Mix it thoroughly with your hands until 
the whole preparation has the consistency of liquid 
shoe polish. In mixing the various ingredients be 
sure your hands are thoroughly clean. 

The bleach is now ready for use. After the hat is 
blocked, apply it very thinly with your stencil brush, 
squeezing out the brush, rubbing the bleach well into 
the hat, and spreading a very little over as large a sur- 
face as possible. Finish by rubbing well with a nearly 
dry sponge. 

Apply the bleach to the crown, the upperbrim and 
underbrim, in order, letting each dry before going on 
to the next. After the entire hat is covered with the 
preparation, and has been allowed to dry thoroughly 

136 



Other Bleaching Methods 

in the sunshine, brush as before with your dry scour- 
ing brush. You will observe that very little sulphur 
brushes out, and the hat quickly takes on a highly 
polished appearance. Follow with your dry Turkish 
towel, rubbing vigorously to remove any loose sulphur 
from the surface, so that no powder will remain to 
brush off on the clothes of the wearer after the hat is 
delivered. 

As stated, this is by far the best liquid Panama hat 
bleach. The secret of success in its use lies in apply- 
ing it as sparingly as possible and spreading it as far 
as it will go, always brushing it well into the fiber with 
the stencil brush and following with the nearly dry 
sponge. Do not brush too hard after the hat is dry. 
Improved results can often be obtained by dusting 
some dry lac sulphur over the hat just before the 
final brushing and polishing. This is done by putting 
the sulphur in a small bag made of a double thickness 
of cheesecloth, tied at the top, and rubbing the bag 
over the hat before taking it off the block. Care must 
be taken that the hat is dry before this is done. 



137 



CHAPTER XXV 



Renovating Women's Straw Hats 

FOR the man who has gained experience in reno- 
vating men's hats, and who is willing to put 
further effort into the renovation of women's hats, a 
department for the latter holds promise of big returns. 
A number of men's renovating establishments go after 
this trade, but the majority neglect it. 

One men's hat store having a renovating department, 
and which recently installed a woman's department, 
cleaned and reblocked nearly 1,000 hats in the month 
of March, at a minimum charge of $1.50 each. This 
business, of course, was promoted by enterprising 
methods, and special attention to this branch. 

Plan for a Special Women's Department 

The rear of the store was partitioned off into a small 
room for the exclusive use of women patrons. Spe- 
cial attention was paid to the lighting, and to a con- 
venient arrangement of mirrors. Around the room 
were placed a number of shelves, and on these were 
kept displayed about fifty hemp and milan hats, un- 
trimmed, all the smartest and best models of the sea- 
son. When the woman customer entered she was 
shown to the women's department, where a courteous 
attendant received her and invited her to try on any 
of the displayed shapes she liked. She was informed 
that her old hat could be made over into just the style 
and shape she selected. This store got its customers 
by billboard advertising announcements in the daily 

138 



Renovating Women's Straw Hats 

papers, and by sending a woman demonstrator out to 
various local stores and factories. 

How to Proceed with Women's Work 

Should you decide to conduct a women's hat reno- 
vating department in conjunction with such a depart- 
ment for men, it will be wiser at the beginning to re- 
strict your efforts to the simpler features of the trade, 
such as the bleaching and reblocking of Panamas ; 
the cleaning and reblocking of felt body hats; the 
bleaching of fine milans and leghorns, and split braids 
of the more staple shapes. The more delicate hats., 
hemp, lace, Tagal braids, satins and velvets, are best 
left alone until practical experience in the more simple 
work lends ingenuity for the more exacting. To un- 
dertake the making over of the more delicate hats in 
the beginning would hardly prove successful. 

Neither is it advisable for the beginner to attempt 
work in the various freak shapes which spring up. 
Staple shapes and a few smart, seasonable styles will 
prove a safe and sound policy. It is estimated that 
1,000 freak shapes in hemp and soft straws are intro- 
duced each season, and to purchase all of the blocks 
and flanges necessary to cover even part of this num- 
ber would be a waste of money. Many of the Pan- 
amas, felts, leghorns and milans for women are blocked 
on mannish blocks ; and by ordering a size 7^2, 7^4 ° r 
8 inch alpine, and the same in a flat or half round 
top, you can cover almost the entire field. The vari- 
ous telescopes can be produced on the alpine block 
by blocking while still hot, telescoping to any desired 
height. 

For any other blocks you may desire, it will be ad- 
139 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

visable to have your name placed on the mailing lists 
to receive the fashion plates of the several block mak- 
ers, especially those in New York, where many of the 
season's newest shapes originate and where blocks for 
only accepted style shapes are made. In this connec- 
tion, it will also pay you to get in touch with some 
milliner in your town and consult her on the styles 
for the season. Do not buy too many of the prevail- 
ing shapes or "leaders." In women's headgear styles 
change quickly, and to-day's "leader' may be to-mor- 
row's frost. 

How Women's Hats are Renovated 

In remodeling women's Panama hats, Leghorns and 
Milans, almost the same methods are used as are fol- 
lowed in renovating men's Panamas ; with the excep- 
tion that, owing to the width of the brim and to the 
inferior quality sold by milliners and department stores, 
women's Panama hats will require more stiffening. 

In women's straw hats, the nature of the braid is 
such that great difficulty is sometimes experienced in 
ripping the hat so that the braid can be used in its 
original form. For this reason it is always advisable 
for the renovator to try and induce the customer to 
have her hat remodeled into a shape as nearly like 
the old hat as possible. If she consents this will ob- 
viate the necessity of ripping either entirely or in 
part. With such braids as chip, split and fine Milan 
it is next to impossible to rip the hat. But in the case 
of cotton braids, hemp, Sisal and the heavier and 
more firmly woven straw braids, it is quite practical 
to ravel the hat completely and use the braid over 
again in its original form, stitching it yourself. 

140 



Renovating Women's Straw Hats 



How the Ripping Is Done 

In starting to rip a hat bear in mind that all hats 
are sewed from the crown, or button, out to the brim, 
and that the nature of the stitch is such that the thread 
must be grasped from the point last sewn, and from 
there ripped back. Hats are sewn with a single thread 
chain stitch, which makes ripping a simple operation 
if you begin properly. First find the end of the thread, 
then loosen it and pull on the loosened thread end. 
You will likely find it running back smoothly to the 
"button." Should any difficulty arise from the sizing, 
the ripping process may be facilitated by immersing 
the hat in warm water or by use of a steamer. This 
will loosen the glue or sizing and make ripping com- 
paratively easy. The hat is then resewn on a plaster 
paris block of the required shape. Several sewing 
machines for sewing hats are on the market, most all 
of them including a complete instruction book telling 
exactly how the sewing is done. After investing in 
a machine, if you haven't one, study the instruction 
book and practice on old hats until you become pro- 
ficient before attempting to sew hats for the trade. 

Sizing the Hat 

After the hat is sewn the next step is sizing. There 
are two distinct methods of sizing. One is by use of 
glue or gelatine, and the other by use of shellac. The 
glue sizing is the more practical and is the cheaper of 
the two. The glues and gelatines can be purchased 
from firms in New York, Chicago and Boston making 
a specialty of sizings for the manufacture of straw 
hats. 

141 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

The mixtures for straw hats are, using as the zero 
mixture, a solution of one ounce of glue to one quart 
of water. This will make a very thin sizing. A larger 
amount of glue should be used where more stiffness 
is desired. In sizing light and white hats it will be 
necessary to bleach the glue. This is done by adding 
a teaspoonful of either oxalic acid, salts of tartar or 
sugar of lead to one gallon of mixed glue. It must 
be remembered that this bleaching of glue has a ten- 
dency to hurt the hat, and great care must be exercised 
not to get too much acid into the mixture. 

Two processes of sizing hats are as follows: 

Process No. 1 : 

The hat is dipped in a quantity of the solution men- 
tioned in the foregoing and is allowed to dry. No 
particular attention as to the shape is required at this 
stage of the work. Where quick results are desired 
the hat is sometimes dried with heat, but the best 
method is atmospheric drying. 

Process No. 2 : 

The hat is placed on a plaster paris block of the 
desired shape and covered with the sizing described. 
It is allowed to remain on the block until nearly dry, 
when it is removed for further operation. 

The process of shellac sizing is similar to that de- 
scribed above, and the sizing, as with glue sizing, can 
be applied either by the dipping or the painting method 
In either case the hats are handled in the same manner. 

Hats made of pyroxaline or hair braid are some- 
times sized with banana oil. The method of using 
the oil is similar to that of applying any other sizing. 

142 



Renovating Women's Straw Hats 

However, the use of this sizing is not advised, for, the 
reason that banana oil is very pungent and many find 
it offensive. 

Blocking 

The next step is the blocking. This is done in the 
factory on a hydraulic press. When such a press is 
not available, however, the hat can be blocked over 
a plaster paris block by ironing with a hand flat. 

After the hat is blocked it is covered with a coat of 
shellac or varnish. Where a brilliant lustre is re- 
quired on white or light-colored hats, the hat should 
be shellacked with white French varnish or white 
shellac. 

Women's beavers, velours and felt body hats are 
cleaned and finished by the same process used for 
similar men's hats. Satin and velvet hats are cleaned 
by soaking them over night in clean gasoline and 
rubbing with soft cotton while in the gasoline. A 
brush must never be used on these hats. White satin 
hats cleaned by the gasoline process should be sprinkled 
with white talcum powder and the talcum well rubbed 
in with a piece of clean white cotton. Polish after- 
ward with a clean towel or piece of cotton. 

Women's Milans and split braids can be beautifully 
dyed by applying to them with a brush one of the 
many cold dyes on the market. Some of the manu- 
facturers of these dyes will send you a color card 
showing the various colors and shades. If you have 
a demand for this kind of work it will be well for you 
to get one of these cards each season. 



143 



CHAPTER XXVI 



Ironing, Washing and Blocking Silk Hats 

THE hat renovator in a small town is seldom called 
upon to iron or block silk hats, for the reason 
that few silk hats are worn in small towns. In the 
larger towns, however, the silk hat is popular, there 
being many occasions when it is worn, especially Sun- 
days at church. The renovator equipped with the 
knowledge necessary to renovate a silk hat and who 
is capable of doing it in satisfactory manner, can make 
many an extra dollar in any fair-sized town by de- 
voting attention to this feature of the renovating busi- 
ness. A silk hat to look nice must be ironed at least 
once a month if it is worn much, so you see the op- 
portunity which this branch of the renovating busi- 
ness affords. 

All that is necessary for silk hat work in a small 
town is a sponge, silk hat penetrating brush, hot iron 
and a silk hat brim brush ; but in the larger cities it 
is advisable to purchase a potance frame, two or three 
different style potance blocks — one almost straight ; 
one medium bell crown, and one full bell crown. Some 
potance blocks are made with one side slightly belled 
and the other with a deeper bell. An iron silk hat 
tolliker or potance iron and a wooden tip stand are 
also necessary. 

It should not take over twenty minutes to iron a 
silk hat. First brush the brim thoroughly with your 
silk hat penetrating brush, making sure that all of 
the dust is removed. Sponge the underbrim with a 

144 



Ironing, Washing and Blocking Silk Hats 

cotton wad dipped in gasoline. Rub one way only. 
This process imparts gloss and lays the nap. As 



WOODEN TIP 
STAND 



gasoline evaporates rapidly, the hat dries quickly. 
When dry, brush again with the penetrating brim 
brush and shake all the dust out of the crown, brush- 
ing it with a silk hat brush. Then take a pad made of 
the silk cover of an old umbrella, hold it against a 
very hot iron, and then run the hot pad quickly over 
the hat, in the direction of the nap only. The hot 
silk pad produces the necessary lustre. By placing the 
hat on your tip stand, you can spin a perfect center 
to the tip by running the hot silk pad over the same. 
After the hat has been thoroughly brushed, the hot 
silk pad rubbed thoroughly over the tip, sides and 

145 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

upper brim, so that no streaks appear, and that hat 
has a perfect lustre or polish, you must then sponge 
the binding and underbrim with your hot sponge. 



POTANCE FRAME AND 
BLOCK 




Blocking Silk Hats 
Should it become necessary for you to block a silk 
hat in order to remove a dent or break, the procedure 
is as follows : Dampen on the inside under the dent or 
break only. Then attach the potance frame to your 
bench, adjust on the frame the potance block that 
corresponds with the crown of the hat, turn the sweat- 
band outward and lay the crown on the block. Then 
brush the nap one way, and iron over the break sev- 
eral times slowly until the break is cold and disappears. 
Be careful to use clean irons and not to have them 

146 



Ironing, Washing and Blocking Silk Hats 




POTANCE IRON 




too hot. A regular silk hat lure for brushing and 
stretching the nap is preferable to a brush. The mois- 
ture on the inside of the hat and the heat on the out- 
side melts the shellac and mends the break. 

Cleaning Spots on Silk Hats 

To remove spots from the plush apply a minimum 
of alcohol and brush vigorously with the lure until 
dry ; then iron. When a hat is exceedingly soiled, first 
brush thoroughly and then sponge with a clean sponge 
dipped in water containing ten drops of ammonia to 
a tumbler of water. After sponging, brush vigorously 
with the stiff penetrating brush, and sponge again with 
the same sponge squeezed out thoroughly. Let the 
hat dry before placing it on the potance block. After 
it is on the block, brush hard with dry penetrating 
brush until all streaks disappear. Then iron until the 
natural gloss returns and proceed to polish as in 
ironing. 

The reblocking and recurling of silk hats, making 
them over into the latest styles, cannot be mastered by 
a beginner. This is a trade in itself and should be 
left entirely to the silk hat manufacturer. A little 
practice, however, will enable the beginner to do a 

147 



Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating 

creditable job at ironing, washing and blocking. The 
trimming of silk hats is also best left to the manu- 
facturer. He has made a study of the art and under- 
stands it. 

Renovating Opera Hats 

There is not a great deal that can be done with an 
old or broken opera hat — the folding kind, made of 
silk stretched on a frame. One that is merely dusty 
or worn-looking, however, can be improved 100 per 
cent, by holding it over live steam for a few seconds 
and sponging it with a hot, damp sponge. 



148 



WHATEVER YOU 
NEED WE HAVE ! 

Here is a partial list of the articles we carry in 
stock for the hat trade: 



Army Trimmings 

Band Blocks 

Block Strap 

Bleaches 

Bombazine 

Bow Ties 

Bow Braid 

Blocking Cord 

Bottom Board 

Brim Iron 

Brim Plane 

Brim File 

Brushes 

Buckles 

Cloth Bands 

Cords 

Corrugations 

Curling Board 

Cleaners 

Conformateurs 

C. W. Telescoper 

C. W. T. Punches 

Cork Ventilators 

Curler's Gas Stove 

Conformo Gas Stove 

Curlers Press 

Curling Machine 

Combination Curling 

Shackle 
Dyes 

D'Orsav Shackle 
Duck Bill Tolliker 
Eyelets 

Eyelet Punches 
Electric Clutch 
Fancy Bands 



Flat Iron Tolliker 

Foot Tolliker 

Front and Rear Toll- 
iker 

Formillion 

Flanges (Ladies and 
Men's). 

Flange Stand 

Finishing Bench 

Finishing Powders 

Groove Tolliker 

Gold Paper Initials 

Hatters Irons 

Hat Bands 

Hat Sweats 

Hat Pads 

Hat Blocks 

Hat Guards 

Helmet Trimmings 

Heart Tolliker 

Hinge Shackle 

Iron Stands 

Initials 

Initial Punch 

Jersey Shackle 

Luers 

Leathers 

Luering Stoves 

Mourning Bands 

Muslin 

Metal Initials 

Military Cords 

Opera Hat Silk 

Oil Silk 

Oil Silk Lips 



Potance Block 

Potance Frame 

Potance Iron 

Pouncing Paper 

Pin End Hat Guards 

Plush 

Puller Down 

Reeds 

Rubber Tolliker 

Runner Down 

Spring Rounding Jack 

Slide Rules 

Shackles 

Satin 

Set Sticks 

Stretch Blocks 

Size Rings 

Size Tickets 

Size Reducers 

Stoves 

Size. Marks 

Sewing Silk 

Slides 

Stickers 

Sanitary Sweats 

Silk Elastic Bands 

Slip Stick 

Stifreners 

Spinner. 

Telescope Blocks 

Tip Stands 

Tissue Caps 

Tollikers 

Ventilating Punch 

Wire Cards 



Roberts, Cushman & Company 

Executive Offices and Salesroom 

10 Washington Place, New York City- 
Hat Band Mills HAT SWEAT FACTORY 
26-36 East 26th Street, 9 Washington Place 
Paterson, N.J. NEW YORK. N.Y. 

Send for our illustrated catalogue 



149 



$75 EQUIPS YOU ! 



Only extensive experience can inform you what 
equipment and supplies are absolutely essential for 
setting up a finishing and renovating shop. We 
have applied our experience in the selection of the 
Beginners' Outfit. This outfit will be found sufficient 
for immediate needs, though as the new business 
expands it will be necessary to add other articles 
from time to time. 

The Beginners' Outfit includes the following: 

4 Soft Hat Blocks 1 Retailers' Penetrating 

4 Panama Hat Blocks Brush 

4 Soft Hat Flanges 1 Soft Hat Finishing Brush 

4 Panama Hat Flanges 1 Size Ring 

4 Band Blocks 1 Dusting Brush 

1 Flange Stand 1 Stretch Block 

1 Runner Down 1 Box Hat Pads 

1 Puller Down 3 Dozen Oil Silk Lips 

1 Slip Stick % Gross Sanitary Sweats 

1 Spinner for Panamas 

1 Skein Blocking Cord y> Gross Sanitary Sweats 

1 Foot Tolliker for Soft Hats 

1 Heart Tolliker 1 Gross Stickers 

1 Hatters' Iron 1 Gross Bows 

1 Round Shackle %" 

Black Bands in different widths 
An assortment of Colored Bands in different shades and widths 

The price of the Outfit is $75 

Every article of approved type and recognized quality, else we 
would not sell it 

Roberts, Cushman & Company 

Executive Offices and Salesroom 

10 Washington Place, New York City 

Hat Band Mills HAT SWEAT FACTORY 

26-36 East 26th Street, 9 Washington Place 

Paterson, N.J. NEW YORK. N.Y. 

Send for our illustrated catalogue 
150 



LARGEST LINE 
of HAT BANDS 
IN THE WORLD! 



Look for 
this Label 
on all 




Bands 

and 

Bindings 



We weave our own hat bands and cut our own hat 
sweats. Do you know any other supply house that 
does this? 

Let us send you our sample line. 

Roberts, Cushman & Company 

Executive Offices and Salesroom 

10 Washington Place, New York City 

Hat Band Mills HAT SWEAT FACTORY 

26-36 East 26th Street, 9 Washington Place 

Paterson, N.J. NEW YORK. N.Y. 

Send for our illustrated catalogue 



151 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




011 426 968 2 



